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Friday March 29, 2024

Opp to table no-trust move against NA Speaker

By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
July 04, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The united opposition in Parliament has decided to move no-confidence against Asad Qaisar, Speaker National Assembly in next week’s session of the lower house of Parliament.

Muttahida Majalis-e-Amal (MMA), headed by Maulana Asad Mahmood, has assured the PPP of its support for the no-trust. The PPP is spearheading the move and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has already announced to back the move.

The National Assembly sitting has been slated by the government to be summoned on July 8. The PML-N is the biggest opposition group in the two houses of Parliament while the PPP comes after that and the MMA is the third largest group in the National Assembly. Interestingly, the opposition has also made up its mind to knock the doors of the apex court for removal of Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri who was de-notified as a member of the National Assembly by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in October last since the Balochistan High Court (BHC) election tribunal, declared Suri's election to the National Assembly as void for massive rigging in the polls. He was declared elected as a MNA from NA-265 (Quetta-II) on a ticket of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the general election like Asad Qaisar who was elected from Swabi (KP).

The election results of NA-265 were challenged by Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, who had filed a petition against alleged rigging in the constituency. The united opposition in the National Assembly took decision to table no-trust move against Speaker Asad Qaisar when he switched off the mike of PPP stalwart Abdul Kadir Patail on the last day of the budget session of the National Assembly in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Patail took the name of a deceased US lady amid the heat of debate while the members of treasury were hitting hard against the PPP top leadership.

Abdul Kadir Patail told The News Friday evening that the strategy being worked out for bringing vote of no-trust against the Speaker National Assembly. He maintained that the Speaker has proved that he has failed in protecting the rights of the members of the house. The conduct and attitude of Asad Qaisar is unbecoming of a custodian of the House, he said.

The move for no-confidence can be submitted by even one member of the House and it is supposed to be brought immediately on the order of the day being top subject of the agenda of the National Assembly. Once the move is tabled, the voting would be carried out after seven days of its tabling.

The sitting Speaker will be provided opportunity to address the House to make his submission against the allegations leveled by the mover/movers.

Once the no-confidence comes under discussion in the House, the Speaker isn’t entitled to chair the proceedings of the house.

The experts are of the view that in case the no-confidence motion is failed once, it could be tabled again and at any number of times after its failure.

Meanwhile, sources said that the no-confidence against Asad Qaisar will be inked by the PML-N, PPP, MMA, BNP-Mengal, ANP and some independent members of the National Assembly.

The sources revealed that the united Opposition has discussed status of Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani case regarding the pending petition in the Supreme Court where Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri is sitting in the House as result of injunction given by the learned apex court.