Vote deferred till next week
NAVEED BUTT & AAMIR SAEED
ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Tuesday deferred a vote on two motions moved by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) for a week to de-seat Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarians for absence from the House for 40 consecutive days.
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah and Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar said that they would talk to both the parties and convince them to withdraw motions.
Dar requested the Speaker not to take up the motions for a vote against the PTI parliamentarians and defer it as the government is ready to discuss the issue with the parties outside the Parliament.
The MQM and JUI-F had already moved motions separately in the National Assembly on April 21, 2015 to have the seats of 28 PTI members of the Lower House of the Parliament vacated under clause 2 of Article 64 of the Constitution. Now these motions were placed on the agenda for consideration of the House for a vote.
PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi appreciated National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq for dealing with the issue in a good manner. “We believe that we are elected members and we have to play our role in the Parliament,” Qureshi said.
Qureshi said, “if the House believes that we are not members anymore then there is no need to hang a sword over our heads. A decision should be taken now as delaying this issue much longer is not in the interests of the House and democracy. We will go to home if the House shows the door after a vote on the motions,” he said.
MQM leader Syed Asif Hasnain said the prime minister’s words are being appreciated today. He said that the Parliament and democracy is also being lauded. But the House should distinguish between the right and wrong which has been done in sit-in of PTI in front of the Parliament, he added.
MNA Jamshed Dasti did not agree with the prime minister’s statement about PTI and said that the government should complete its tenure. He said that the system should continue and the MQM and JUI-F should take their motions back and pay attention to the flood-affected people.
Sahibzada Tariq Ullah of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) said that democracy should not be derailed and we should move forward. He said that the MQM and JUI-F should take their motions back.
Naeema Kishwar of the JUI-F said PTI had been saying that the Speaker was on stay order while PTI MNAs seem to be on the stay order as the House can oust them under the rules.
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said that the government should not take up the motions for a vote as this would spoil ‘good environment’ of the House. He said that a unanimous resolution should be passed by the Parliament to support democracy and rule of law.
Ishaq Dar said that a consensus decision would be made on the issue as his party is contacting its allies and heads of the MQM and JUI-F to settle the issue.
