PTI mulls challenging NA speaker’s ruling

Joint opposition meets today to craft strategy over the issue

ISLAMABAD: The debate over National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s ‘partisan ruling’ in a spate of disqualification references may ultimately be decided in court, with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf announcing on Wednesday that “it was weighing the option”.

“It’s possible that the PTI may exercise the option of moving the court of law against the decision of the speaker,” PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Sadiq after receiving eight references – four against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, two against Imran Khan and one against Jahangir Tareen – had authored a detailed ruling, commenting that the documentary evidence ‘did not add up’ in all but two references that he referred to the ECP.

Incidentally, the two references that he sent to the commission targeted the PTI leaders. The opposition – particularly the PTI and the PPP – strongly protested against the speaker’s ‘partisan attitude’.



“We have set (a) precedent to this effect,” Qureshi said while referring to the disqualification of former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani by the Supreme Court.

In 2012, after a reference against Gilani was filed by Shahid Orakzai, former speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza had decided against forwarding the reference to the ECP after his conviction by the apex court in a contempt of court case.

“We have been waiting for the receipt of a copy of the decision of the speaker’s office. Our legal team will weigh the option of moving the court against the decision,” Qureshi added. He said the speaker’s ruling was discriminatory and biased.

“It held accountable those who have been demanding accountability of those in power,” Qureshi said, adding the decision had specifically discredited parliament, the prestigious bipartisan forum – the speaker’s office – in particular. He said the speaker while deciding the matter forgot his role of ‘custodian’ of the House.

Meanwhile, the joint opposition is scheduled to meet on Thursday (today) to devise a unanimous strategy over the ‘controversial ruling’. This was decided after a meeting between Qureshi with Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah at the Parliament House.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2016.