Punjab opposition leader ‘removed from office’ after Supreme Court verdict – Pakistan

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has declared the post of Leader of Opposition in the provincial House vacant in light of the Supreme Court verdict, which overturned the decisions of the Peshawar High Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan on the issue of reserved seats.

“The opposition leader (Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachar) was appointed to this post with the support of the Sunni Ittehad Council of the House and this platform no longer exists after the Supreme Court verdict, which deprived the Sunni Ittehad Council of its parliamentary status,” the president said at a press conference on Friday.

“Since the members of the Sunni Ittehad Council, who had proposed the name of the opposition leader, have now switched to the PTI, the post of the opposition leader has become vacant,” he said.

On July 12, the Supreme Court had declared Imran Khan’s PTI eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.

The verdict came following a series of appeals filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) against the PHC and ECP’s refusal to allocate reserved seats for women and non-Muslims.

The PTI-backed candidates, who had contested and won the February 8 elections as independents after their party was stripped of its election symbol, had joined the SIC to form a coalition of convenience.

While some consider the decision of the Supreme Court Chief Justice to be nothing more than political rhetoric, Supreme Court Bar Association President Shehzad Shaukat and senior advocate Mubeen Qazi say the decision is in line with the court’s verdict.

They say that since the SIC has lost its parliamentary status following the Supreme Court verdict, it makes sense to remove the person who was holding the post when he was appointed to make way for the PTI candidate, the successor to the SIC.

In early May, House Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan suspended 24 women and three minority MPs elected on reserved seats and barred them from participating in the House proceedings after the Supreme Court stayed the ECP verdict to allocate reserved seats to parties other than the SIC/PTI.

“Zero tolerance for abusive policies”

Responding to the opposition’s accusation that it does not have adequate time in the House, the Speaker said that since the House was established five months ago, 70 per cent of the debate time has been given to the opposition.

However, referring to the use of abusive language against Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif by some opposition MLAs during the budget session last month, he said if the opposition played politics of abuse, it would not be tolerated.

Regarding the recent session of the Assembly requisitioned by the opposition, which then boycotted its proceedings without even participating for a single moment, he said that 60 opposition MPs signed the list of the Assembly without even setting foot in the chamber.

He said the MPs acted like “Ali Baba and 60 thieves” by trying to claim heavy travel and daily allowances by signing the list without attending the session.

The Speaker said that an ethics committee has been formed to look into these issues and that it has contacted the government as well as the opposition to resolve (amicably) the issues in the Assembly.

About the purchase of luxury cars for him from the Assembly funds, Mr Khan clarified that the cars were purchased for the Speaker’s office and will be used when national and foreign dignitaries visit the Assembly.

He also claimed that all other elected chambers in the country already have luxury cars for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the opposition stayed away from the elections for the posts of chairmen of three standing committees of the House held here on Friday.

PML-N’s Samiullah Khan was elected unopposed as chairman of the Privileges Committee, Khurram Virk of the Insurance Committee and Agha Ali Haider of the Excise Committee.

Published in Dawn, July 27, 2024