Why PTI is trying to oust opposition leader

ISLAMABAD: The efforts of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to rope in the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to oust Syed Khursheed Shah as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly are aimed at securing a dominant role in the appointment of the new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the next caretaker prime minister.

Under the Constitution and law, the interim premier and the NAB chief are to be nominated by President Mamnoon Hussain in consultation with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the leader of the opposition.

If Khursheed Shah remains in place, the PTI, MQM or any other opposition group have no role whatsoever under the Constitution and law in the selection of the caretaker prime minister as well as the NAB chairman.

If an alliance is worked out between the PTI and MQM, its strength with the support of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and Awami Muslim League (AML) will slightly exceed the numerical power of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its allies. Thus, it will qualify to stake a claim to the post of the opposition leader in place of Khursheed Shah. PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has already put himself as the candidate for the slot.

The incumbent opposition leader is supported by 47 PPP MPs, two Awami National Party legislators and eight others, bringing his tally to 57. If a coalition is hammered out for his ouster, it will have the backing of 30 PTI lawmakers (with the exclusion of two dissidents Aisha Gullalai and Mussarat Ahmadzeb), 24 MQM MPs, four Jamaat-e-Islami legislators, one PML-Q member and one AML MP, making it a total of 60 lawmakers.

Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq doesn’t have the power to refuse or obstruct removal of Khursheed Shah if the new alliance gets majority support against the opposition leader. According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, a notice signed by a majority of the opposition members may be given showing that the opposition leader has lost the support of the majority of its members. Such notice shall be accompanied by the nomination of a proposed new opposition leader signed by a majority of the opposition legislators.

After verification of the MPs’ signatures, if the Speaker is satisfied that the opposition leader has lost the support of the majority of the opposition lawmakers, he shall declare him to be removed from office. When he is removed, the Speaker shall immediately declare the member who has been nominated as such as the opposition leader. The Rules say the opposition leader means a member who in the opinion of the Speaker is for the time being leader of majority of the opposition MPs.

After each general election and at any time thereafter the Speaker shall, declare leader of the opposition as early as possible after the election of the Prime Minister. After the election of the Prime Minister, the Speaker shall inform the members about the date, time and place for submission of a name for the opposition leader under their signatures. He shall declare a member as opposition leader having the greatest numerical strength after verification of the signatures of the members. Any lawmaker who is not signatory to the proposal, if he presents himself before the count, and signs the proposal, shall be included in the count.

Under Section 6 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, a NAB chairman shall be appointed by the President of Pakistan in consultation with the Leader of the House (Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in this case) and the leader of opposition for a non-extendable period of four years and shall not be removed except on the grounds of removal of the Supreme Court judges. The section excludes any consultations by the prime minister or the opposition leader with any other political party. But still to evolve a consensus to avert any row, other political parties are consulted by both the premier and the opposition leader.

Similarly, as per Article 224 of the Constitution, the caretaker premier shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the Prime Minister and the opposition leader. If the prime minister and the opposition leader do not agree on any person to be appointed as the interim premier within three days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be immediately constituted by the Speaker, comprising eight members of the outgoing National Assembly, or the Senate, or both, having equal representation from the Treasury and the Opposition, to be nominated by the prime minister and the opposition leader respectively. The committee shall finalize the name of the caretaker prime minister within three days of the referral of the matter to it. In case of its inability to decide the matter within this period, the names of the nominees shall be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for final decision within two days.