ISLAMABAD - Although the National Assembly Secretariat has paid salaries to 24 PTI lawmakers of eight months despite their absence from the lower house, MQM and JUI-F are still planning to press the government to de-seat these MNAs for violating the rules.
Both the parties have not only criticized salary payment to PTI MNAs but also set to demand of the Speaker in the upcoming session to consider in the house about their motions to de-seat these lawmakers, sources told The Nation on Friday.
Both the parties had submitted a motion to de-seat the PTI MNAs due to their continuous absence from the house for over forty working days without intimating the speaker.
The movers of the motions, the sources said, though making efforts to convince other parliamentary parties to put weight behind their move but chances are not there due to negative response of different political factions.
As PPP had already announced that it would not give vote for de-seating the PTI MNAs if any motion is moved in the house. PPP sources said that it would not change its stance over this issue as even PPP asked JUI-F to withdraw its motion against PTI MNAs.
Both the parties from treasury and opposition had moved back-to-back motions under Article-64 of the constitution against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, who remained absent from the house in protest against the government over alleged rigging in general elections and even submitted their resignations.
The motions were moved against PTI MNAs Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Dr Shireen Mazari, Imran Khattak, Sajid Nawaz, Arif Alvi, Murad Seed, Junaid Akbar, Qaiser Jamal Shehryar Afridi, Ghulam Sarwar, Hasan Nawaz, Sajida Begum, Lal Chand, Ayesha Gulalai and others.
The motions, moved by both the parties only mentioned the names of those PTI lawmakers who had submitted resignations while remaining six members of the party were not included in the list.
The speaker Iyaz Sadiq, after the separate motions moved in the National Assembly for de-seating 28 PTI MNAs, had also given ruling to discuss it within seven working days, which could not be possible due to some reasons in previous NA sessions.
The first motion was moved by MQM lawmaker Salman Baloch, on behalf of 23 party MNAs, while, the second motion was moved from treasury benches by Naeema Kishwar of JUI-F on behalf of seven party members.
According to rules of business, “if a parliamentarian is absent without leave for 40 consecutive days of house sittings, the speaker shall bring it to the notice of assembly. On pointing, any member can move a motion. In case the motion is accepted the seat of the member shall be declared vacant.”
The PTI lawmakers who last year had submitted resignations are Imran Khan, Sajid Nawaz, Dr Imran Khattak, Ali Muhammad Khan, Mujahid Ali, Aqibullah, Sheharyar Khan Afridi, Khaila Zaman Orakzaie, Dr Muhammad Azhar Khan Jadoon, Engineer Dawar Khan Kundi, Col (R) Amirullah Marwat NA-27, Engineer Hamid-ul-Haq, Murad Saeed, Junaid Akbar, Qaisar Jamal, Asad Umar, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Shafqat Mehmood, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi, Rai Hasan Nawaz Khan, Dr Arif Alvi, Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattack, Sajida Begum, Aaisha Gulalai, Shireen Mazari, Munaza Hasan, and Lal Chand Malhi.
While, five PTI’s lawmakers, including Gulzar Ahmad Khan, Siraj Muhammad Khan, Nasir Khan Khattak, Saleem Rehman and Musarrat Ahmad Zaib distanced from rest of the lawmakers and continued attending the proceeding regularly.