President goes on sick leave ahead of Shehbaz’s oath

Senate chairman administers oath after deputy speaker says his conscience did not allow him to conduct session

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf appears to be adamant in its stance against accepting the former opposition leader in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, as the prime minister of the country after the ouster of Imran Khan through a vote of no-confidence.

President Arif Alvi on Monday went on a leave after complaining of "discomfort", just hours before he was scheduled to administer the oath of the prime minister to Shehbaz.

President Dr. Arif Alvi has complained of discomfort. The physician has examined him thoroughly and has advised him rest for a few days.

— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) April 11, 2022

"The physician has examined him thoroughly and advised him to rest for a few days," a short statement issued on the official Twitter handle of the president of Pakistan read.

Shehbaz was scheduled to take oath as the prime minister of Pakistan at the Aiwan-e-Sadr at 9pm. However, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani administered the oath to Shehbaz in the absence of President Alvi.

Shehbaz took oath soon after the National Assembly elected him as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan.

On Sunday, President Alvi said he would continue to hold office for the time being and did not intend to resign despite political turmoil in the country.

The PTI’s close aides said that the president would continue to perform his constitutional duties and that the party leadership had issued no such orders.

Sources claimed that if the PTI Chairman and former premier Imran Khan, in consultation with party leaders, asked President Alvi to resign, he may consider leaving the office.

If the new federal government takes the constitutional route to impeach the president, the party would make a decision based on the circumstances.

Also read: President Alvi not to opt for resignation following Imran's ouster

There was a possibility that Alvi might remain in office under the newly elected prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

Suri defends ruling

Earlier in the day, the NA session to elect a new premier commenced after the recitation of the Holy Quran. The session was chaired by the deputy speaker who gave reasons behind his earlier ruling to dismiss the no-trust vote against Imran, which was set aside by the Supreme Court.

"The ruling was declared unconstitutional by the court and we all are obliged to respect the court. But I want to tell you the reason behind my ruling," said Qasim Khan Suri.

He elaborated that the decision was taken "as a responsible Pakistani and deputy speaker of the NA".

Suri then referred to the diplomatic communiqué, saying that the cable was discussed during the meeting of the National Security Committee, in the federal cabinet and a parliamentary committee meeting. He added that it was “proven” that the no-trust motion was linked to a foreign conspiracy.

“On April 9, it was decided during a cabinet meeting that the cable would be declassified and sent to then-NA speaker Asad Qaiser by the government.”

The deputy speaker said that the speaker of the house reviewed the cable as well.

"Was talking about an independent foreign policy, independent economy ... and fighting the case of Islamophobia Imran Khan's fault? Was he [Imran] punished because he refused slavery?"

He announced that the letter would be sent by the assembly to the chief justice of the Supreme Court, saying that he accepted all the decisions of the Supreme Court but he told everyone to think about it. “The house should be run according to the law.”

He said, “My conscience does not allow me to be become a part of the process to elect such a man who has corruption cases worth Rs16 billion and Rs8 billion pending against him as the prime minister of Pakistan.

“May Allah (SWT) protect Pakistan … Ameen.”

After that, the deputy speaker left the house.