Tag: Speaker Asad Qaiser

  • ‘Didn’t show up because of the no-confidence motion against me’: Speaker Asad Qaiser clarifies stance

    ‘Didn’t show up because of the no-confidence motion against me’: Speaker Asad Qaiser clarifies stance

    National Assembly (NA) Secretariat in a statement has refuted all rumours circulating in the media in relevance to Speaker (NA) Asad Qaiser refusing to endorse the assembly dismissal on Sunday, April 3.

    “Qaiser decided not to preside over the meeting due to a no-confidence motion against him”, read the statement.

    Speaker Asad Qaiser had resisted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership’s script of rejecting the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan under Article 5 of the Constitution, reports Geo News.

    On the day of voting, Qaiser did not preside over the lower house session. Instead, Deputy Speaker NA Qasim Suri conducted the session.

    Geo reports that sources privy to the matter have revealed that Qaiser reportedly was not ready to give a ruling under Article 5 of the Constitution to reject the no-trust motion against PM. The news outlet further reveals that the premier’s legal team tried hard to pursue Qaiser to foil the trust motion; however, he disagreed and refrained from attending the NA session.

    Qaiser responded with “no comments” on Geo News’ attempt to get his version. “The matter is in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, therefore I cannot talk on this,” he said.

    However, Qaiser tweeted the detailed ruling of the dismissal of the no-trust motion.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan is in a state of political chaos as the no-confidence motion against Khan was dismissed abruptly on Sunday. The move came after Suri termed it “unconstitutional”, saying that it was backed by “foreign powers”.

  • Voting on no-confidence motion expected on April 3 or 4 : Sheikh Rasheed

    Voting on no-confidence motion expected on April 3 or 4 : Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has said that voting on the no-confidence motion against oust Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will take place on April 3 or 4.

    The federal minister’s comments came during a press conference.

    The interior minister said that everyone is allowed to hold public gatherings in Islamabad; however, according to the directions by the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP), no one will be allowed to enter the Red Zone.

    The minister also announced that Pakistan People’s Party MNA Jam Abdul Karim would be arrested upon arrival in Pakistan as he is nominated in the Nazim Jhokhio murder case. “He is coming to cast his vote from Dubai. I have directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and talked with IG Sindh. We will arrest him and hand him over to the Sindh police,” said Rasheed.

    Rasheed said that the suspect is being brought to Pakistan from Dubai without obtaining bail ahead of voting on the no-trust motion against PM Khan. “This shows that their [Opposition’s] legs are trembling,” he added. 

    Taking a jibe at the Opposition, he said that they are “fools” because they played a major role in the popularity of Imran Khan.

    It is pertinent to mention here that National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned NA session on the vote of no-confidence motion till Monday (March 28).

  • Asad Qaiser summons NA session on March 25, Opposition calls for trial of Speaker under Article 6

    Asad Qaiser summons NA session on March 25, Opposition calls for trial of Speaker under Article 6

    National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the lower house of parliament on March 25. The NA session will be held at the Parliament House on Friday at 11am. The 14-day constitutional deadline to convene the NA session on the Opposition’s requisition will expire on March 21 (today).

    Sources told the media that the session will offer fateha for PTI MNA Haji Khayal Zaman who recently passed away, after which the Speaker has the “discretionary power” to continue or adjourn the session.

    Opposition parties on Sunday slammed Qaiser for not convening the assembly session within 14 days of its requisition, demanding that he should be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed hope that the Supreme Court would take notice of the violation of the Constitution by the Speaker.

    “This coward captain [the PM] is running away from the vote of no confidence. He is escaping to the extent that he has made the speaker abrogate the Constitution,” said Bilawal.

    Article 6 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan states, “Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.”

    The second clause adds that any person aiding, abetting, or collaborating in the acts will also be considered guilty of high treason.

    Clause 2A says that an act of high treason cannot be validated by any court, including the Supreme Court (SC) and a High Court.”

  • ‘PM Khan will de-seat PTI turncoats before vote on no-trust motion’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘PM Khan will de-seat PTI turncoats before vote on no-trust motion’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that the decision to summon a National Assembly (NA) session would be taken by NA Speaker Asad Qaiser and not Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    The minister while speaking with Dawn News said that the possible action against what he termed ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) turncoats’, would be that, “PM Khan has decided to de-seat them before voting on the no-trust motion.”

    The minister’s comments came after around 24 members of the PTI were reportedly found to be staying at the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) run Sindh House.

    After the news became public on Thursday, PM Khan called a meeting attended by Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan and the NA Speaker.

    The premier directed Qaiser to commence the sitting of the lower house on March 21 and take action against “PTI’s possible turncoats”.

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that it is empowered to take action only after receiving a declaration from the NA speaker about the members voting against party policy or crossing the floor.

    In a joint press conference with the information minister and Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, PTI Secretary General Asad Umar said that PM Khan could also throw money at Opposition lawmakers, but would not do so because he does not stand for the “politics of blackmailing and bribery”.

    “Imran Khan is in politics not for himself, but for the nation,” he added. He also claimed some opposition MNAs were also in close contact with the government.

    “We want to make it clear that we will not do any deals and will not disburse ministries to stay in power. We will remain engaged with our allies but there will be no wheeling and dealing,” said Azhar.

  • Joint session ‘big victory’ for Govt, Opp to move ‘no-confidence’ motion against Senate Chairman

    Joint session ‘big victory’ for Govt, Opp to move ‘no-confidence’ motion against Senate Chairman

    The government on Wednesday managed to force amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, allowing the use of electronic voting machines and granting voting rights to overseas Pakistanis. A total of 33 bills were passed amidst the Opposition’s continuous protest against them.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry termed the passage of 33 bills in a joint sitting of parliament a “big victory” for the government.

    Speaking at a press conference, Fawad said, “The Opposition will remember this defeat for a long time and must have realised about its strength today (Wednesday) in parliament and now its dream to remove the Senate chairman will not come true.”

    “Those considering moving no-confidence motion against government functionaries should have a second thought about their assessments,” said Fawad.

    The Opposition on Wednesday decided to challenge the bills that were passed in parliament.

    Earlier the Opposition was considering bringing a no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani or National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser as a tester to confirm the present strength of treasury in parliament.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khurram Dastagir said on a Dawn News TV show that the motion would be moved soon. They said if the motion became successful, then a similar motion could be moved against the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    On the Opposition’s decision to move the court against the bills, Fawad said both the Houses had approved the legislation, so it would not be an “easy task” to challenge them.

    “Both the Houses have passed the bills […] it will be hard to challenge them, but they can be challenged,” added Fawad.

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, speaking to media outside Parliament, said legislation was bulldozed and NA Speaker Asad Qaiser had “trampled” Parliamentary traditions.

    “Legislation cannot take place in such an atmosphere […] the votes counted for the Opposition were far fewer than their actual numbers,” he added.

    “We believe three or four additional votes were counted in favour of the government,” he said, adding: “We had more than 200 lawmakers in the house today.”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said, “The government did not emerge victorious today in parliament.”

    Bilawal tried to explain that according to the law, more than half of the combined votes of a joint sitting were required to get a law passed in parliament.

    Bilawal said he “tried his best” to draw the attention of the treasury benches and NA Speaker towards the joint sitting’s rules, but no one paid heed to it.

  • ‘Who was insulted?’: Opposition questions Asad Qaiser on postponing of joint Parliament session

    National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser has reportedly met with the United Opposition on Tuesday, reports Geo Urdu.

    Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz’s (PML-N) Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) senior leaders Khursheed Shah and Sherry Rehman were present in the meeting with Speaker.

    The Opposition was invited to discuss and negotiate on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other legislation.

    “Now the government is calling for a joint session,” questions the Opposition.

    The Opposition raised the question to Qaiser that, “Who was insulted”? [Referring to the postponing of the joint Parliament session]. Upon this, the speaker replied, “I will call the ministers right now, “adding that things would have been better if the legislation had been passed by consensus.

    Last week, Qaiser wrote to the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and invited the Opposition for talks after the government got seven bills passed in the absence of Opposition members from the lower house of parliament due to which the government was heavily criticised.

  • Bilawal Bhutto meets Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Bilawal Bhutto meets Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari meets Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman today in Islamabad.

    Geo News reported that the PPP made contact with PDM after having resigned from all PDM offices in April 2021, saying that no party “should try and impose their will and dictation on any other political party”. 

    The meeting comes after the Opposition parties have “united” to adopt a joint strategy against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    Members of the united Opposition on Thursday met National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser twice and asked him to give them in writing the terms of engagements, which should include a categorical statement that it was the government that approached them for dialogue.

    “We are going to communicate to the Speaker that he should give us in writing because we do not want to hear that we (the Opposition) have been pressing for a dialogue,” said Sherry Rehman.