Lawmakers pained by the empty parliamentary seats around them

Govt may suspend membership of a few PTI lawmakers ahead of Senate elections in a bid to pressurise PTI

ISLAMABAD: Amidst uproar from the opposition over the consistent absence of Federal Cabinet members from the National Assembly, the Speaker’s office on Tuesday identified five more Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf’s (PTI) lawmakers for their  absence from the House without any formal request.

On Monday, Deputy Speaker Javed Murtaza had identified four PTI lawmakers who had been absent from the House for 40 consecutive days. Names of five PTI lawmakers were added to this list on Tuesday, including the name of PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Interestingly, the name of PTI chief Imran Khan is not on the list. According to an official of the NA secretariat, the speaker had received a leave application from a PTI member on behalf of Imran.

However, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has never informed the House about the status of PTI chief, an official said, adding that the speaker had deliberately delayed any announcement regarding the PTI chief’s status owing to controversy surrounding the audit of NA-122, where Sadiq competed against Imran.

Interestingly, PTI lawmakers, who have not attended a session of the National Assembly since submitting their resignations on August 22, have been drawing their salaries.

Sources claim that in a bid to put pressure on PTI, government could suspend the membership of few PTI lawmakers in next few weeks ahead of Senate elections in March.

Missing cabinet members

A day after Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan assured the House that he would bring to the Prime Minister’s notice the truancy of federal ministers from Parliament, he himself was absent from the floor of the House on Tuesday.

Despite the low attendance in the House on Tuesday, no party pointed out the incomplete quorum.

Chairing the session, deputy speaker held the government responsible for not ensuring presence of its members in the House.

PPP still hoping for PTI’s return

Although opposition parties have not shown any interest regarding the absence of PTI members, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah termed few state ministers present in the house as innocent and powerless who do not even get opportunity to interact with ministers.

Shah also made it clear that the Pakistan Peoples Party is deliberately avoiding pointing out the absence of PTI lawmaker in a bid to convince the part to return to the House.

JUI-F to move resolution to de-seat PTI members

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), an ally of the federal government, has announced their intention to move a resolution in the house calling for absent PTI lawmakers, including chairman Imran Khan, to be de-seated.

JUI-F on Monday had asked the Speaker of the National Assembly to de-seat PTI Chairman Imran Khan for remaining absent for more than 40 days without any intimation.

“Our members in the National Assembly have submitted a notice to NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq,” While talking to The Express Tribune, JUI-F laeder Haifz Hussain Ahmed confirmed that his party has submitted a notice with the office of the speaker to de-seat Imran Khan.

“Since Imran Khan has recently married and we want give him a gift ... we have submitted this notice to speaker so that Imran could spend more time at home,” he added.

He hinted that the Speaker may be hesitant in accepting Imran’s resignation or their application to de-seat him given the controversy surrounding NA-122. “The Speaker does not want to accept the resignation submitted by Imran Khan.”

Responding to another question, the JUI-F leader said that “The speaker has been asked to de-seat Imran Khan at first instance as a number of PTI members have claimed they were coerced into resigning from the assembly.”

He further said that his party members would continue to remind the Speaker about the issue even if their request is not taken up.

Walkout

The lawmakers hailing from tribal areas staged a walk against what they termed rude behavior of the ruling party by not paying heed towards their just demands.