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Thursday March 28, 2024

‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’: Lifetime ban can curb horse trade, says AG Khalid Javed Khan

If the conscience of a parliamentarian awakens, he should resign and seek reelection, suggests AGP

By News Desk
March 22, 2022

KARACHI: Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan said Monday that disqualification for lifetime could curb horse-trading, a curse the Supreme Court has termed cancer.

Speaking in Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath', he said floor-crossing is not only illegal but also an immoral act. Penalty for crossing floor should not be one-time disqualification if Article 63A is read with Article 62.

He contended that those not fulfilling the Article 62 (1)(f) criterion stand disqualified for life as interpreted by the Supreme Court. Therefore, he argued, a parliamentarian crossing floor should be considered to have lost the qualities stated in Article 62 (1)(f) if Article 63A is to be made effective.

He maintained that two questions — is Article 63A an isolated provision of the Constitution, or is it part of the larger scheme that includes Article 62 (1)(f) — is the government’s case before the Supreme Court.

So far, the attorney general said, these two questions have not been interpreted in any case, adding that such an interpretation would not only be for the sitting government but also for the entire political process.

He said that if conscience of a parliamentarian awakens, he should resign and seek reelection. Article 63A does not apply to the government’s allies, he concluded.

PTI dissident Ahmad Hussain Dehr said the parliamentarians are yet to be allocated funds. In such a state of affairs, how the government can accuse the dissidents of accepting money to leave the party, he asked.

He said the prime minister should tell him how much money he spent on winning the loyalty of seven PMLN MPs six months ago. He said everything is not for money. He neither went to the Sindh House nor met the opposition leaders. He said the prime minister doesn’t listen to their problems and he only recalls them when he needs their votes. Dehr said he donated four Kanals worth Rs40 million to the Rescue 1122 a month ago. He said it is a matter of prestige, not politics or government. Who is responsible if mischievous elements attack them after being misguided by the prime minister? These people stormed the house of a woman MNA where her daughters were present there. Can a father direct his supporters to intrude into the house of his daughter? He said he still stands by the prime minister and never announced quitting the party.

PTI dissident Noor Alam Khan said they are political people who do not earn enmities. He said he would move court against the abusive language being used against him. He lamented that some people think that they can treat people like Shairoo (Imran’s dog) and if people had not been treated like Shairoo, the situation would have been different. He thanked the chief justice of Pakistan for giving the remarks that the court would not stop any member from voting in the assembly.

PTI dissident Ramesh Kumar said stability is a must to steer Pakistan in the right direction. He said there are 35 dissidents who have reservations about the government. He said he put up all issues before the prime minister, but nothing was done for the welfare of the minorities. He said three or four of the dissidents were elected on reserved seats while the remaining are all senior politicians. No dissident would rejoin the PTI. If there is the issue of life-time disqualification, they would prefer contesting elections again, he added.