Court may order military to arrest Sharif, family: Shah

Leader of opposition says Constitution and laws apply equally to every citizen

ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah has said the court has the right to exercise Article 190 over non-compliance of its order and to ask the military to arrest deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.

“Sharif is playing a very dangerous game as he and his family members are not appearing before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) despite being summoned [by the accountability watchdog],” Shah told reporters in Islamabad on Monday.

“If this continues to happen, NAB can issue warrants to arrest the Sharif family,” he said, adding that such a development could have dangerous consequences.

He said Pakistan’s Constitution and laws applied equally on every citizen so it was beyond comprehension why the government wanted confrontation with state institutions.



Responding to a question about former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar’s press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, Shah said it would have had worth if it was addressed from outside the Punjab House.

On Saturday, NAB requested the Supreme Court to allow members of the Panama Papers Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to give their statements before the anti-graft watchdog as part of its investigations against the Sharif family and others.

The request came a day after the ousted prime minister and his sons – Hassan and Hussain – refused to appear before NAB. In its July 28 judgment, a five-member bench of the apex court unanimously disqualified Sharif for hiding his assets and ordered NAB to file reference against him and his family.

NA concludes debate of polls reform bill

The National Assembly on Monday concluded debate on Electoral Reforms Bill [The Election Bill, 2017] while leaving other agenda of the day unaddressed. The house is likely to pass the bill today [Tuesday].

The government accepted 44 amendments introduced in the proposed bill by the opposition and expressed hope that the bill will be passed with consensus. Earlier the National Assembly started discussion on a motion moved by Law Minister Zahid Hamid regarding Election Bill 2017.



Taking part in the discussion, opposition MPs said the amount of expenses for the election campaign should be enhanced and the overseas Pakistanis be allowed to vote in the next general election. They also pressed for conducting next election through biometric verification of voters.

Winding up the discussion on the electoral reforms bill, Hamid said most extensive consultations were made over the draft of the bill. He said a total of 129 meetings took place of the main committee and the sub-committee which were formed to suggest proposal for drafting the bill.

He said till the 93rd meeting of the sub-committee there was no note of dissent or amendment and the unanimous report into this effect was presented. He wondered after developing so many consensuses over the bill the number of amendments as per the latest count had reached the number of 105.

He said instead of making it a joint bill, it had been converted into a government bill and complained that reservations of the opposition surfaced when it was time to approve it with consensus.

In his winding up remarks he said it was living document in which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been strengthened and it is not possible to award extra powers to it. “Under the proposed bill, the ECP will submit election plan four months prior to the election,” he added.

Hamid said the presiding officer after finalising the result would take picture of it through smartphone which would be communicated to the returning officers (RO) and the ECP. “The measures have been taken to safeguard the interests of women, minorities and transgender,” he added.

 

[WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM NEWS DESK]