Days after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf issued show-cause notices to 13 of its lawmakers on grounds of alleged defection, the disgruntled lawmakers responded on Saturday by vehemently denying the allegations as “baseless and untrue”.
The strongly worded response comes after the ruling party issued the notices when the dissenting PTI lawmakers were found staying at the Sindh House and openly expressed a lack of confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The PTI had asked the lawmakers to explain within seven days about giving the impression that they were about to leave the party.
In his reply, PTI dissident Noor Alam Khan categorically denied the allegations made in the show-cause notice and said he has not given any interview that merited further explanation.
While clarifying that he has not left the party, the lawmaker maintained that Article 63-A of the Constitution – which deals with the disqualification of a parliamentarian over defection – did not apply to him at all, given that he has not indicated defection from the party.
“I strongly deny the allegations made in the show cause notice,” Noor Alam asserted and added that, “I don't even feel the need for a personal appearance”.
Grievances
The MNAs also mentioned their reservations and concerns in their letters.
"We have neither left the PTI nor have we defected from the parliamentary party. Since the allegations are baseless, we thought it best to not appear before the prime minister in person," they added.
Similarly, MNA Ahmed Hussain Dehar, in his letter, said his actions were not in violation of Article 63-A and vehemently rejected the claims made against him in the show-cause notice.
The dissident lawmaker insisted that the claims about his defection were devoid of any evidence. “There is no justification for taking action against me under Article 63-A of the Constitution,” he added.
“I have never said anywhere that I have left PTI,” he stressed and recalled that he has always “spoken the truth while staying within the party’s folds”.
Expressing concerns over the alarming inflation, Dehar lamented the government’s “nonchalant” attitude towards his repeated requests to the party’s leadership to address the economic woes in the public interest as per the manifesto of PTI.
“The prices of flour, ghee, dal, sugar etc. should be adjusted according to the prices of 2018 through subsidy,” he said.
He said that he had once intimated his concerns about the sorry state of affairs of the Multan’s Nishtar Hospital where the doctors lacked the proper equipment to treat patients.
"I had once revealed the pictures of burnt children [deprived of adequate treatment in the hospital] to PM Khan and CM Punjab during one of our meetings. But they did not pay any attention," Dehar claimed.
It may be mentioned here that Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, while hearing a presidential reference, seeking interpretation and scope of Article 63A of the Constitution, said on Friday that it could not “fill in the blanks” and asked the government why it did not enact a law to determine the length of disqualification of lawmakers for violating Article 63-A.
“Nothing related to disqualification over defection is mentioned in the Election Act 2017,” Chief Justice Bandial said while referring to Article 63-P of the Constitution. He also asked the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) if the federal government had the power to make the law then why was it not done.
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