PTI in a fix over taking action against defecting K-P MPAs
Party struggles to maintain majority support for finance bill in the K-P Assembly
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in session. PHOTO: AFP
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to call for its budget session on May 5, 2018; 23 days before the interim government takes over before the general elections.
The dilemma the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) finds itself in is a Pandora’s Box of allegations against its own MPAs who might have been involved in horse-trading and the pressure that action against them should be taken. But is that a possibility?
Insiders familiar with the matter say that the province has completed its paperwork for the budgetary work and is now waiting for a nod of consensus, but what remains is the fact that if any action against those who have defected is taken, it might bring down the house on the PTI to maintain a simple majority in the assembly, the nemesis of the government is not a likely outcome but what will have to be done is to strike a deal with those who have defected.
PTI aware of members involved in horse-trading: speaker K-P Assembly
To maintain a simple majority 63 MPAs are required to form a government, currently the PTI have 60, with the Jamat-e-Islami’s (JI) support the figure swells to another seven MPAs.
If another independent candidate Shah Faisal is added to the list, this makes up for strength for 68.
Considering that the party decides to take action against those MPAs that have defected. Based on what the provincial leadership has to say behind closed doors these MPAs are between nine to 17 in number. If the party takes action against five, it will lose simple majority. But that is not all.
Considering the legal purview, when the budget is presented and the forward block plans a move against the government, under the article 63-A of the Constitution the grounds for disqualification apply to a member of a political party who votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, in relation to a Money Bill which in this case is the budget.
Dodgy delimitations: K-P assembly speaker to write to ECP
“Even if we take action the ECP will not de-seat them?” says an Shoukat Yousafzai of PTI. “The forward block has been creating hindrances but on the other hand there are backdoor channels through which everyone is negotiating for a ticket for the next election”.
The K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has initiated an inquiry against those involved in horse-trading on the directions of the party chief Imran Khan. The public stance is that they will be expelled from the party but ground realities suggest that the PTI might have to negotiate their way out if the current government is to present the budget 2018.
On April 2, 2014, around 14 PTI formed a forward bloc in K-P Assembly terming it a group of like-minded individuals where at the same time demanded due share in the government and expressed reservations at the party high-ups interference in provincial matters, especially over the appointment of ministers and advisers in the cabinet.
The MPAs showed confidence in PTI Chairman Imran Khan, seemingly out of fear of disqualification from the party, and claim that being party workers, it was their right to raise their voice for their rights as they were accountable to their followers. The group had emerged over induction of ministers and advisers in the K-P cabinet and shuffling of the health ministry portfolio.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to call for its budget session on May 5, 2018; 23 days before the interim government takes over before the general elections.
The dilemma the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) finds itself in is a Pandora’s Box of allegations against its own MPAs who might have been involved in horse-trading and the pressure that action against them should be taken. But is that a possibility?
Insiders familiar with the matter say that the province has completed its paperwork for the budgetary work and is now waiting for a nod of consensus, but what remains is the fact that if any action against those who have defected is taken, it might bring down the house on the PTI to maintain a simple majority in the assembly, the nemesis of the government is not a likely outcome but what will have to be done is to strike a deal with those who have defected.
PTI aware of members involved in horse-trading: speaker K-P Assembly
To maintain a simple majority 63 MPAs are required to form a government, currently the PTI have 60, with the Jamat-e-Islami’s (JI) support the figure swells to another seven MPAs.
If another independent candidate Shah Faisal is added to the list, this makes up for strength for 68.
Considering that the party decides to take action against those MPAs that have defected. Based on what the provincial leadership has to say behind closed doors these MPAs are between nine to 17 in number. If the party takes action against five, it will lose simple majority. But that is not all.
Considering the legal purview, when the budget is presented and the forward block plans a move against the government, under the article 63-A of the Constitution the grounds for disqualification apply to a member of a political party who votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, in relation to a Money Bill which in this case is the budget.
Dodgy delimitations: K-P assembly speaker to write to ECP
“Even if we take action the ECP will not de-seat them?” says an Shoukat Yousafzai of PTI. “The forward block has been creating hindrances but on the other hand there are backdoor channels through which everyone is negotiating for a ticket for the next election”.
The K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has initiated an inquiry against those involved in horse-trading on the directions of the party chief Imran Khan. The public stance is that they will be expelled from the party but ground realities suggest that the PTI might have to negotiate their way out if the current government is to present the budget 2018.
On April 2, 2014, around 14 PTI formed a forward bloc in K-P Assembly terming it a group of like-minded individuals where at the same time demanded due share in the government and expressed reservations at the party high-ups interference in provincial matters, especially over the appointment of ministers and advisers in the cabinet.
The MPAs showed confidence in PTI Chairman Imran Khan, seemingly out of fear of disqualification from the party, and claim that being party workers, it was their right to raise their voice for their rights as they were accountable to their followers. The group had emerged over induction of ministers and advisers in the K-P cabinet and shuffling of the health ministry portfolio.