ISLAMABAD - Ayaz Sadiq has to wait another couple of weeks to get back his old job of Speaker National Assembly for which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has given formal approval.
Sources in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz informed The Nation that the decision was made much earlier in the party meeting that only in case of his (Ayaz) defeat the party leadership would consider doling out the position to some other party leader otherwise after his victory in by-polls, he would be the only choice for the slot.
As per the tentative National Assembly meeting schedule, the upcoming session of the Lower House of the Parliament will start from October 26 which would continue till November 12. Sources in the Parliament saw no early calling of the session as Muharramul Haram would be starting in next couple of days and Muharram 10 will be falling either on 24th or 25th depending on the moon sighting. So the next NA session would be starting from 26.th
A senior party leader commenting on the issue said that PML-N will be bringing back Ayaz as Speaker National Assembly because it would be necessary to establish that the mandate given by the people to ruling party in 2013 elections was genuine.
Sources said that party leadership was quite confident about the victory of Ayaz but the way PTI candidate climbed up so close to him had really rang alarm bells for ruling PML-N and they would definitely be bringing some radical changes in their policies to fortify its position in Lahore, considered to be the stronghold of the party since decades.
These sources said that the decision to land Ayaz in the by-polls instead of moving apex court against the decision of Elections Tribunal verdict of de-seating was made as the party leadership considered it a safe seat to win. But the way PTI had campaigned in the constituency and made it a close contest has now compelled PML-N to redefine its policies and priorities, particularly for Lahore, the source added.
The decision to get Ayaz re-elected as Speaker National Assembly was made at the time of his going for re-elections instead of moving the court, so there was no question of bringing anyone else on the slot. Sources in the party said that though there was no scheduled session of National Assembly after the de-seating of Ayaz as MNA but the government did not call the session and decided to stick with the tentative National Assembly sessions’ schedule only to avoid elections to the slot of Speaker which would become mandatory once the slot is vacant and session is called.
A senior party leader said that they were not in a hurry and NA session would most likely be called as per schedule on October 26 when Ayaz would take oath as MNA and his election to the slot of Speaker National Assembly would be made the same day.