Chaudhry Nisar to be sworn in as Punjab MPA today

Ag Agencies

LAHORE: Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday broke his silence on reports of his return as a lawmaker as he announced that he would be sworn in as a member of Punjab Assembly today (Monday).

In a statement, Nisar said he decided to take oath as MPA after consulting with the people of his constituency. The senior politician insisted that the development did not signal any change to his stance and narrative about the 2018 general elections and he did so to “take control of the political situation” in his constituency.

Media reports also quoted Nisar as saying he would not be drawing any salary or be availing any of the perks of being a lawmaker.

Nisar, who was the interior minister in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) regime, contested the 2018 general elections as an independent candidate from two national and two provincial assemblies after developing public differences with the PML-N leadership. He secured the PP-10 Rawalpindi V constituency. He, however, had not taken the oath since.

The development comes after the Cabinet Committee on Legislation was planning to introduce an amendment to the Election Act 2017, according to which, a seat will become vacant if the elected representative does not take oath within 60 days.