NA deputy speaker slot goes to JUI-F

Zahid Akram Durrani sworn in to post; vows to play his role in restoring sanctity of parliament

ISLAMABAD:

JUI-F’s Zahid Akram Durrani on Thursday was elected the deputy speaker of the National Assembly unopposed as he was the only one to have submitted his nomination papers.

He was sworn in by NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf, who himself was recently elected unopposed too.
Prior to that, the speaker informed the House about Durrani’s appointment to the post, citing that no other candidate had filed their nomination papers for the slot.

Speaking in the House after being elected deputy speaker, Durrani vowed to play his role in restoring the sanctity of parliament in accordance with the Constitution, law and traditions.

The newly elected deputy speaker expressed his gratitude to his party chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, for nominating him for this important post. He also thanked all the members of the assembly for his unopposed election to the slot.

Federal Minister Asad Mahmood, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Maulana Akbar Chitrali, Mohsin Ranjha, Nawab Yousuf Talpur, Nisar Cheema and other MNAs congratulated Durrani on being elected unopposed as the deputy speaker. They expressed the hope that he would play his part in restoring the sanctity of the House and conduct its proceedings in an impartial manner.

They claimed that the former speaker and deputy speaker had trampled on the Constitution and the law while holding these posts, violating the sanctity of the House.

On April 16, former deputy speaker Qasim Suri had stepped down from his post before voting on a no-confidence resolution against him could be held.

He had submitted his resignation to the assembly secretariat an hour before the session was supposed to start in which he had to face the no-trust move.

Suri had given the controversial ruling during the NA session on April 3, while rejecting the no-confidence motion against then premier Imran Khan, saying that it was backed by a foreign state therefore, it was “unconstitutional” under Article 5 of the Constitution. He then prorogued that session without the vote on the motion.

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However, his ruling was struck down by the Supreme Court on April 7.

The next day, the joint opposition had moved a no-confidence resolution against Suri, accusing him of violating the constitutional provisions, besides rules and parliamentary and democratic traditions.

A resolution was filed with the National Assembly secretary for Suri’s removal from the deputy speaker’s office under Article 53(7) of the Constitution.

During the proceedings on Thursday, Jamaat-e-Islami MNA Maulana Akbar Chitrali demanded the restoration of the Friday holiday. “Faces have changed here but the system is the same,” he added.

The JI lawmaker stressed the need for adopting the Almighty’s system instead of the US’ slavery.

PML-N’s Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha demanded launching an impeachment motion against President Arif Alvi.
He added that a joint sitting of parliament should be convened and the president should be held accountable for violating the Constitution. “The joint sitting should play its role to remove him [Alvi] from the Presidency.”

The lawmakers from the very beginning were showing their lack of interest in the proceedings of the House and they carried on without meeting the quorum.

By the time sitting ended, there were less than a dozen lawmakers left in the House but there was nobody to point out the lack of quorum because of the absence of an opposition.

Later, the speaker adjourned the session for an indefinite period.