Karachi - Sindh Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a motion and a resolution moved by Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf respectively, demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign from his post on moral grounds after two judges of the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday decreed in their notes of dissent that premier be disqualified.

The Assembly’s session on Friday started almost an hour behind schedule, with Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the chair.

Soon after the call attention notices, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Nisar Ahmed Khuhro submitted a motion, saying that two judges of the apex court had declared that Nawaz was not pious and honest and disqualified him from the post; therefore the prime minister should submit his resignation.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Khurram Sher Zaman submitted a resolution, saying that two judges had disqualified the prime minister while the three others had also called for probing allegations against him through a Joint Interrogation Team (JIT). “Therefore, he should resign from his post,” he demanded in the resolution.

The House unanimously passed the motion and the resolution.

Speaking on it, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that the Panama leaks issue had earned the country notoriety and isolation from rest of the world and the prime minister, instead of taking responsibility, continued to tell lies to the nation, the parliamentarians and the judges.

He said that these were the same Articles 62 and 63 that had been inserted by Nawaz Sharif’s guru, Ziaul Haq, in the constitution, and which were now biting him.

“The counsel for the premier had said in the court that his client’s speech in the National Assembly was a political statement,” Khuhro said, and opined this amounted to insulting mandate of the people.

He added that instead of telling the truth to the court, PM’s lawyers kept narrating the tales of Mian Sharif and a letter from Qatari prince.

The minister further said that it was the voice of people of Sindh that when two judges had disqualified Nawaz Sharif for not being honest and the three others did not oppose their conviction, then morally the premier should have resigned.

Speaking on the occasion, MQM Parliamentary Leader Syed Sardar Ahmed said that actual decision of the court was the one that was given by majority of judges, reminding the same had happened in Bhutto’s trial as well where the judges in minority opposed his hanging, but the majority decision of hanging prevailed.

“This motion and resolution in the House against the prime minister are premature, and everyone should wait until all legal requirements are exhausted,” he opined.

Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izhar ul Hassan said that SC decision was the one given by majority of judges, and now the JIT would decide the fate of the prime minister.

He further said that it would have been more appropriate if this motion would also have demanded action against those involved in corruption, money laundering and other heinous crimes.

Izhar denounced the words used against judges in the House, and said that instead of focusing on the accountability of certain people, a system be introduced where no one could escape the accountability.

“Now we have to strengthen this system to make everyone accountable,” he said, adding that 90 percent of the government departments heads are involved in corrupt practices and those at the helm of affairs should vow to eliminate corruption from the society on the very first day in office.

The former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, however, opposed this logic, and said that the decision was clear as two judges had disqualified the prime minister and the three others had not opposed it.

Qaim said that in the past, people would quit their posts on moral grounds even if they had committed small negligence.

“Nawaz Sharif should also follow the precedent and relinquish his post, and wait until the investigation is completed,” he asserted.

Blasting the opposition for criticising PPP over its corrupt practices, Qaim said that it was the PPP that had passed legislation for accountability and those who were talking of NRO should have known that which party from Karachi benefitted from it.

“I will not talk of London as it can infuriate MQM lawmakers even today,” he said.

PML-F lawmaker Mehtab Akber Rashidi said that the only loss in the Panama leaks case was that of people of Pakistan as they achieved nothing from it. “Contrary to it, the opposition and the government both are distributing sweets to celebrate the decision,” she pointed out. “I can’t understand the nature of this decision which has made everyone happy,” she said, adding that only the people were the losers in the case as they were still waiting for solution to their problems.

MQM lawmaker Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani said that everyone got benefits from the NRO, and now we were witnessing the end of politics of reconciliation as the authorities had clamped down on some influential persons of PPP.

“Neither those on whom the fingers are being raised and nor those who had raised fingers are free from corruption,” he opined.

PTI lawmaker Khurram Sher Zaman said that if the prime minister had little bit shame left in him, he should resign from his post because the top-most senior judges of the apex court had called for his disqualification.

“I applaud Imran Khan for continuing efforts to create awareness among masses over theft of rulers and if the prime minister has an iota of shame then he should leave the office,” he said. He said that the court had rejected the letter from Qatari prince and other evidences submitted by Nawaz Sharif, and he should now stop insulting the nation and resign.

Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Shehla Raza said that a prime minister who appeared before the court and only refused to write a letter against the president was sent home packing while the other who faced serious allegations of money laundering had never bothered to appear before the judges. “Now how the prime minister and his children would appear before a JIT that is to be led by his subordinates,” she said, adding that JITs was useless as neither Hussain Haqqani nor Altaf Hussain ever appeared before them and their probe had never resulted in the resolution of cases.

“It is the PPP, which has suffered the most in the name of accountability and unfortunately this decision depicts the features of law of necessity,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sindh Assembly also witnessed heated debate between the Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izhar and Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Shehla Raza over amendments to a bill pertaining to Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jeelani Institute of Science Gambat (Amendment) Bill 2017.

The opposition leader said that the Assembly was not the property of the deputy speaker and he wanted to speak on it, but she was not allowing him. “You are not running the affairs as per rules and regulations,” he alleged.

This infuriated the deputy speaker who said that she would not let male chauvinism dominate her and was running the affairs as per the rules.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs tried to cool down the situation during protest from MQM lawmakers over these remarks and admitted that the bill was tabled for amendment in supplementary agenda; therefore the protest was justified over not being supplied with the copies of the amendments.

The House later unanimously passed the amendments, calling for replacing the word nazim with district chairman while four members of provincial assembly, a MNA and a respected citizen be also included in the board of governors of the institute.

The House was later adjourned for Monday afternoon.