NA prorogued abruptly after ECP unseats deputy speaker – Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The session of the National Assembly, which was scheduled to continue until Friday, was extended on Wednesday a few minutes after the start of the session, as the opposition claimed that the measure aimed to avoid the election for the vacant position of the vice president .

Syed Fakhar Imam, ruling member of Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of Pakistan, who presided over the session in the absence of the speaker, surprisingly began to read the extension order issued by President Dr. Arif Alvi as soon as Dr. Shahnaz , member of the Balochistan National Party. Baloch noted the lack of quorum shortly after reciting the Holy Quran and Naat and playing the national anthem.

Mr. Imam ordered a recount and then declared that the house was not in order due to the lack of quorum, so a quarter of the members (86) of the total 342 members are required. Instead of routinely suspending the procedures until the quorum is over, Mr. Imam read the extension order without including any items on the agenda.

The sudden extension of the session came hours after the Pakistan Election Commission (ECP) issued a notification to dismiss Vice President Qasim Suri in light of last week's decision of the electoral court of the Upper Baluchistan Court.

The opposition alleges a movement aimed at avoiding the election for a vacant position

The court had declared Friday that Suri's election to the National Assembly was void and ordered a re-election in the constituency of NA-265 (Quetta-II). The result of NA-265 had been questioned by Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani alleging fraud in the constituency.

Suri has already approached the Supreme Court against the decision of the electoral tribunal, but so far his case has not been arranged for a hearing.

During a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee chaired by President Asad Qaiser on Monday, the government and the opposition agreed that the session of the National Assembly would continue until Friday (tomorrow).

The NA Secretariat had even issued an official prospectus for this purpose.

The extension of the session that lasted only 11 minutes caused a strong reaction from the opposition that later claimed that the government had "insulted" the entire parliament for the sake of an individual.

Speaking with reporters outside the House of Parliament, the parliamentary leader of the Muslim League of Pakistan (PML-N) Khawaja Asif and former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP) said that according to the rules, the speaker He was obliged to announce the calendar for the election in the position of Vice President, after the notification of the PCE.

The demand for the elections was made by Syed Naveed Qamar of the PPP during the opening day of the assembly session on Monday. He had responded that he had not received any notification from the PCE so far and that he would review the matter only after formally receiving it.

Mr. Qamar had indicated Rule 11 of the Rules and Procedure for conducting business at the National Assembly 2012, which states that the election of the speaker or vice president should be held immediately, if the position becomes vacant at a time when The assembly is already in session.

There were no official government words in response to criticism from the opposition.

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting between PPP president Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday, the leaders of the two parties said they would nominate a consensus candidate for the position of vice president.

Sources of the ruling party said Dawn that the NA session had been extended to avoid a constitutional crisis and with the hope that Suri could obtain a suspension order against the court decision.

Posted on Dawn, October 3, 2019