Pakistan

NA deputy speaker accepts resignations of PTI’s 123 MNAs

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Taking to Twitter, former prime minister Imran Khan lauds his MNAs for resigning from the National Assembly.
Says MNAs are “standing firm for a sovereign Pak & against US-initiated regime change bringing to power criminals, convicted & on bail.”
Says regime change is the ultimate insult to any self-respecting independent nation.

The Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Qasim Suri on Thursday accepted the resignations of 123 PTI MNAs after they decided to disassociate themselves from the National Assembly following the ouster of PTI Chairman Imran Khan from the office of the prime minister.

Khan was ousted through a no-confidence motion brought against him by the then joint Opposition, a move that the PTI called a “foreign conspiracy” hatched by the United States. The allegation, however, has been categorically denied by the superpower.

After being removed from the office, the former premier asked his MNAs to tender their resignations and refused to accept the newly elected premier, saying “there can’t be any bigger insult to this country”.

Taking to Twitter Thursday, Imran Khan lauded his MNAs for tendering their resignations.

“Want to appreciate our 123 MNAs as their resignations have been accepted by Speaker Qasim Suri. Their standing firm for a sovereign Pak & against US-initiated regime change bringing to power criminals, convicted & on bail — the ultimate insult to any self-respecting indep[endent] nation.”

Want to appreciate our 123 MNAs as their resignations have been accepted by Speaker Qasim Suri. Their standing firm for a sovereign Pak & against US-initiated regime change bringing to power criminals, convicted & on bail – the ultimate insult to any self respecting indep nation.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 14, 2022

Responding to the call of the former prime minister, PTI’s MNAs tendered their resignations to the deputy speaker of the National Assembly hours before the election of Shehbaz Sharif as the new prime minister.

The decision was reportedly made during the PTI’s parliamentary party meeting on April 11.

Sources privy to the matter quoted Khan as saying: “We will not sit in this Assembly under any circumstances.”

He said that PTI will not sit in the Assembly with the “people who have robbed Pakistan” and who have been “imported by foreign forces”.

“We have made this decision to keep the institutions under pressure who want this government to run the country […] we will not let them continue.”

It is worth mentioning that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) can hold the by-elections at any given point and it is not bound by any time limit.

MNAs who did not resign

Meanwhile, some of the MNAs who have not resigned from the assembly include Farrukh Altaf, Amir Sultan Cheema, Afzal Dhandla, Ghulam Muhammad Lali, Asim Nazir, Nawab Sher Wasir, Riaz Fatyana, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Ahmed Hussain Deharr, Rai Murtaza Iqbal, Qasim Noon, Ghaffar Wattoo, Samiul Hassan Gilani, Makhdoom Mubeen, Basit Sultan Bukhari, Aamir Talal Gopang, Amjad Farooq Khosa, Sardar Jafar Leghari, Javaria Zafar Aheer, Sardar Riaz Mazari, and Wajiha Akram.

Imran Khan ousted from power

On Saturday, April 10, Imran Khan was ousted as the prime minister of Pakistan from office through a no-confidence motion.

The session was chaired by Ayaz Sadiq — a member of the panel of chairs — after speaker Asad Qasier resigned from his post.

“174 members have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution, consequently the resolution for the vote on no-confidence against Mr Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has been passed by a majority,” Ayaz Sadiq announced after the process of voting was completed.

Once the voting was concluded and the result was announced, Opposition leaders delivered their victory speeches. The session then was adjourned till 11am on Monday, April 11.

Latest News

PM Shehbaz will meet with Saudi ministers and speak at the WEF special session today.

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

On the third day of his visit to the Kingdom, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will speak at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting’s final plenary, which is titled “Rejuvenating Growth.”

Other speakers at the concluding plenary, in addition to the prime minister, are Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim, British Secretary of State David Cameron, WEF Geneva President Brørge Brende, and WEF Head of Middle East and North Africa Maroun Kairouz.

Meetings with Saudi ministers of trade, energy, the environment, and agriculture are also scheduled for the third day of the prime minister’s visit. He will probably also meet with his counterpart from Malaysia.

Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, will be present at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development, which gets underway here today.

Latest News

The nomination of Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister raises concerns.

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

A lot of doubts have been raised by Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, being appointed deputy prime minister.

No reference to the Constitution, regulations, or any other law was mentioned in the Cabinet Division’s notification of the appointment.

What powers Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used to designate Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister has come under scrutiny in light of this.

There are questions about the legal foundation for the deputy prime minister’s nomination as it appears from the notification’s phrasing that rules for the position have not yet been established, according to insiders.

Likewise, the announcement is vague about the deputy prime minister’s proposed authority.

Deputy prime minister would be purely symbolic, according to government sources, and would not be authorized to carry out prime ministerial duties. In Pakistan, the deputy prime minister has previously been nominated.

The PPP administration appointed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as deputy prime minister.

Observe that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed deputy prime minister on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s consent; the Cabinet Division formally announced the appointment.

Dar holds the position of Pakistan’s fourth deputy prime minister. Previous appointments to the position of deputy prime ministers included Parvez Elahi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

Latest News

Audio leaks case: FIA, PTA, and PEMRA pleas seeking Justice Sattar’s recusal dismissed

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

The Islamabad High Court fined each of the three government departments Rs. 500,000 on Monday after dismissing their arguments against a bench trial over audio leaks.

The court may also hold the heads of the aforementioned departments—the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)—culpable for contempt.

In the audio leak case, four government agencies—the PEMRA, PTA, FIA, and Intelligence Bureau—filed separate petitions with the IHC, pleading for Justice Babar Sattar’s recusal and asking for the case to be heard by the same bench that has previously decided a case of a similar nature.

The petitioners contended that in order to prevent a different ruling, Justice Babar Sattar should recuse himself from the case that was decided in 2021. The petitions of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, and Najamul Saqib, the son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, should also be brought before the same bench.

During the current hearing, Justice Sattar also issued a summons to IB Joint Director General Tariq Mehmood, directing him to come before the court for the case’s subsequent hearing.

Following the issue’s discovery in 2023, the judge has been considering the aforementioned petitions.

The government agencies contended in the petitions in the case before Justice Sattar that Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had already resolved an analogous issue in 2021. Thus, in order to prevent a conflicting ruling and for the sake of justice, they asked the judge to recuse herself from the case.

The departments are requesting that Justice Sattar recuse himself after six IHC judges—among them, himself—complained in writing to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) about intelligence agencies interfering with the court’s decision.

On March 25, the judges called for the calling of a judicial convention to address the issue of purported meddling by intelligence agents in the judicial activities or “intimidation” of judges in a way that jeopardised the judiciary’s independence.