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Friday March 29, 2024

Why is the House empty?

April 25, 2018

Article 64 clause (2) of the constitution says: “A House may declare the seat of a member vacant if, without leave of the House, he remains absent for forty consecutive days of its sittings”. The question is: why haven’t members who failed to attend the sessions of the National Assembly (NA) for over forty days been removed by the speaker who is the head of the House? Imran Khan has attended NA sessions only twice since his elections as a lawmaker. The ousted prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, attended only six out of 102 sessions.

The same is the case with some federal ministers and members of this august house, who miss the sessions deliberately. However, all these members draw hefty salaries and enjoy perks without carrying out their jobs. Has the clause turned rusty or has the speaker ignored the provision to earn the pleasure of the members and avert their ire? The PAC must take notice of the whole issue and recover the salaries from those who do not deserve them.

Guldar Khan Wazir

Loralai