ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat and the law department have told NA Speaker Asad Qaiser that the defiant lawmakers cannot be stopped from casting their votes during the polling on the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan, said well-placed sources.
The sources privy to the matter said that Speaker Qaiser held a meeting with the legal department to seek an opinion regarding the voting of disgruntled members of the ruling PTI.
The speaker was informed that none of the members can be stopped from exercising their democratic right, however, the party can take action against the MNA under Article 63(1)A of the Constitution after he/she has violated the party’s policy.
Sources said that the speaker also asked whether he can give a ruling on the disgruntled members before they cast their votes, to which he was informed that ruling was his prerogative but the relevant laws are very clear and there's no confusion.
In response to Asad Qaiser’s query that whether he can take action against the suspicious members if the party shared their names, the department said that the speaker’s role starts after a formal declaration from the party chairman.
A day earlier, PTI's Senator Faisal Javed Khan, while responding to the reports of horse-trading ahead of the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan, had warned of action under Article 6 against the lawmakers who sell or buy votes.
He had said that it would be a betrayal of the Constitution if the lawmakers get involved in horse-trading, for which they will be treated as traitors.
"Article 6 will be applied to those who will sell or buy votes. This is not a constitutional change but a betrayal of the Constitution,” Senator Faisal had written on his Twitter handle.
