Nehal Hashmi sacked from PML-N but will continue as senator

Expulsion comes in response to senator's derogatory remarks against JIT, judiciary

ISLAMABAD: A day after the Prime Minister received a summons from the joint investigation team (JIT) to appear in person in line with Panamagate probe, the premier expelled from the party firebrand lawmakers Nehal Hashmi, who recently verbally attacked the inquiry panel and judiciary.

However, constitutional provisions allow him to continue as a senator even after being shown the door by the party.

In his capacity as the president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif ordered the termination of Hashmi’s basic party membership on Monday after a PML-N internal inquiry committee found him guilty of violating party discipline and acting in defiance of the party line.



The five-member National Ethics and Discipline Committee, headed by its convener, PML-N chairman and Leader of the House in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq, also included Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Senator Nuzhat Sadiq, Khawaja Zaheer Ahmad, and Dr Asif Kirmani.

On May 31, a video featuring Hashmi addressing a public gathering went viral in which he hurled threats and insults to “warn those investigating PM’s sons”, in an obvious reference to the JIT and judiciary.

On the same day, the PM House had initially announced it would summon the senator, but later suspended his basic membership and asked him to step down from the upper house of parliament. The Supreme Court had also taken notice of the derogatory speech.



On June 6, Hashmi refused to withdraw the resignation while appearing before Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani, a mandatory constitutional requirement for senators to verify their resignation. Following the episode, the prime minister had set up an inquiry committee to probe the senator's language.

“It is to bring in your kind notice that the resignation in question had to be furnished under quite unusual circumstances. It now necessitates its immediate withdrawal as it was completely under a stressful atmosphere,” Hashmi said in his written application to Rabbani. This prompted the Senate chairman to accept the withdrawal of the resignation.

I hereby pronounce that the notice issued for personal appearance of Senator Nehal Hashmi – in the chamber of the chairman Senate has become infructuous...that the resign stands withdrawn,” Rabbani noted in his ruling on the matter.



Conspicuously, on Sunday, a day before Hashmi’s expulsion, PM House confirmed that it had received the summons from the JIT to appear before the inquiry panel on May 15 (Thursday) in connection with the Sharif family’s offshore companies probe and that the premier would act in compliance.

A well-placed source in the ruling PML-N said Hashmi’s membership was terminated in view the fact that the apex court would seek from the government details of action taken against the senator in the next hearing of the case against the senator. “We have to share the progress [against Hashmi] in the top court. [His behaviour] was an unaffordable to act in defiance,” the leader said.

The source also said even though the premier has terminated Hashmi’s party membership, the ruling party cannot press for Hashmi’s ouster from Senate due to constitutional constraints. “It’s a convenient arrangement – to expel Hashmi from the party – to skip the apex court’s displeasure but still e would still continue as a senator.”