All opposition MPs cured of virus

ISLAMABAD: With testing negative of coronavirus former Speaker National Sardar Ayaz Sadiq of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Sajid Toori of the PPP, all members of the united opposition in the Parliament recovered from the virus who could not show up for the budget session of the National Assembly ended last week.

The ruling PTI claimed after budget session that its ten members have been tested positive with coronavirus and they couldn’t attend the session on the day when the voting took place for the finance bill.

The NA session that would be convened on Wednesday (July 8) will be attended by the full house of the opposition as Muttahida Majalis-e-Amal (MMA), BNP-Mengal, ANP, independents are also turning up for the upcoming session where the opposition has planned to table move for vote of no-confidence against Speaker Asad Qaisar for his alleged partial and partisan behavior. It is likely leader of opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif would also turn up for the ensuing session after his doctors allow him to do so.

Syed Naveed Qamar, Parliamentary Group Leader of the PPP in the National Assembly, has said that if the government has to fulfill its constitutional obligations, it will have to convene the NA session on Wednesday, otherwise the mandatory constitutional days of a parliamentary year of the session wouldn’t be completed.

In a brief chat with The News/Jang Sunday evening he said that the PPP had requested its ten elderly members to stay away from the budget session of the National Assembly as precaution at the face of COVID-19.

He said that it was the government that had to demonstrate its majority during the passage of the budget, but it failed to establish it. He said that the vote of no-trust against the speaker is in the cards and strategy is being worked out by the leaders of the united opposition.

Syed Naveed Qamar was of the view that since the voting would be through secret ballot, the government members who are sick of the way, the house and government are being run by the incumbents, would cast their vote in favour of the move once it is tabled.

He said that the National Assembly is short of mandatory twenty working days of the House and the session has to be commenced on Wednesday and it shall have to be continued till the end of the month otherwise it would be violation of the constitution on the part of the government. The government is reluctant in summoning the NA due to the fear and getting confused. Naveed Qamar maintained that all leaders belonging to opposition are on board in the strategy to rid of the government as soon possible.