PTI govt wants MPs to take oath within 60 days

The PTI-led federal government had decided to introduce an amendment bill to make it mandatory for members of parliament to be sworn in within 60 days of their election.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has given the nod to amend the law for this purpose. If the law is passed, members of the National Assembly, the Senate and provincial assemblies will be required to take oath of their office within the given timeframe.

It is pertinent to mention that PML-N leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar has not taken his oath of office after being elected to the Senate. Similarly, another PML-N leader, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar, has also not take the oath as a member of the Punjab Assembly since his election.

Ishaq Dar has been absconding court proceedings since 2017 following the registration of reference against him. Later, NAB confiscated his various bank accounts worth Rs500 million and his house, spread over four kanals and seven marlas in Gulberg, Lahore.

He was declared an absconder by the Supreme Court in 2017, when he failed to appear before it since he was in London, allegedly undergoing medical treatment.

Nisar, however, has held the stance that taking oath as member of the Punjab Assembly would mean that he had accepted the results of the 2018 general elections.

The former interior minister contested the general elections for two National Assembly and two provincial assembly seats, losing all except the PA-10 constituency. He, however, did not take oath and his status was challenged in court.