SC suspends membership of 28 MPs elected through by-polls

CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry passed the order as he resumed hearing of PTI chief Imran Khan's petition.

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: The Supreme Court has suspended the membership of 28 parliamentarians who were elected to their seats in the National Assembly and Senate through by-polls held after the 18^th amendment.

The order came on Monday as Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed hearing of a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, requesting the apex court to block by-elections until the Election Commission of Pakistan prepares corrected electoral rolls that do not list bogus voters.

The court struck down the memberships of those MPs who were elected through by-polls after the 18^th amendment, saying that they will remain suspended until the 20^th amendment is passed which will provide constitutional protection to them. Once the amendment comes into being, their memberships will be revived.

“We are disappointed. The parliamentarians should themselves have refused the perks and privileges, saying the parliament was yet to legitimise their election,” the CJ said.

He said that the court had shown much restraint in the matter as, since the 18^th amendment was passed, it had been pointing out that the election commission was not constituted according to constitutional rules but no progress was made.

Among the suspended members are 16 provincial assembly members, nine National Assembly members and three senators. MNAs include Jamshaid Dasti and Awais Leghari, while Senators include Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain.

Meanwhile, the court rejected Imran’s appeal to the court to stop by-elections until new rolls are provided by the ECP. The court said that the National Database and Registration Authority had assured that, by the stipulated deadline of February 25, it will be able to provide fresh voters list to the ECP to conduct polls in the required constituencies.

The court said it will not disallow the ECP from conducting the by-polls and had never passed such an order. “Our earlier order was misconstrued and press conferences were held to condemn the verdict. The court had only directed that it must be ensured that voters lists are transparent and complete, which is a constitutional requirement,” the CJ said.

Punjab Assembly bars entry for suspended members

Shortly after the verdict, Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan has said that those eight members who the Supreme Court has suspended will be barred from attending Monday’s session.

“Although a notification has not been received yet from the ECP, the court’s ruling itself is to be implemented,” Mashhood said.

Of the members suspended from the Punjab Assembly, seven belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and one to the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Those belonging to the PML-N are Mian Muhammad Ajmal Asif, Basit Ahmad Sultan, Sardar Mir Badshah Qaiserani, Malik Saiful Mulook Khokhar, Ejaz Ahmad Kahloon, Malik Ghulam Raza and Khizer Hayat Shah Khagah. The PPP MPA is Ahmad Mujtaba Gilani, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and was elected from Vehari district. Sultan, who was elected from Muzaffargarh as an independent candidate, later joined PML-N.