Election Commission of Pakistan to announce decision on 25 dissident Punjab MPAs’ case tomorrow
ISLAMABAD, May 19 (SABAH): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is set to announce its verdict in a case pertaining to the 25 dissident members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) from PTI tomorrow (Friday). The verdict is expected to be announced at 3:00 PM today (Friday).
Last month, Muhammad Hamza Shehbaz Sharif was elected Punjab Chief Minister, defeating PTI-PML-Q’s joint candidate, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. Hamza had bagged 197 votes, including 25 from PTI dissidents. Elahi did not get any votes as the PTI and PML-Q lawmakers had walked out of the session.
Subsequently, after a declaration by the PTI, Elahi, who is also the Punjab Assembly Speaker, had sent a reference against the dissident MPAs to the ECP, urging it to de-seat these lawmakers for defecting from the PTI by casting their votes in Hamza’s favour in violation of party directions.
The dissident lawmakers are Raja Sagheer Ahmed, Malik Ghulam Rasool Sangha, Saeed Akbar Khan Niwani, Mohammad Ajmal, Abdul Aleem Khan, Nazir Ahmed Chohan, Mohammad Amin Zulqernain, Malik Nauman Ahmed Khan Langrial, Mohammad Salman Naeem, Zawar Hussain Warraich, Nazir Ahmed Khan, Fida Hussain, Zahra Batool, Mohammad Tahir, Aisha Nawaz, Sajida Yousaf, Haroon Imran Gill, Uzma Kardar, Malik Asad Ali Khokhar, Ijaz Masih, Mohammad Sabtain Raza, Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa, Mian Khalid Mehmood, Mehar Mohammad Aslam Bharwana and Faisal Hayat Jewana.
The 25 MPAs named in the reference had been issued directions by the PTI but they had cast their votes for Hamza, Elahi’s reference had stated. Subsequently, the dissident MPAs had been issued show cause notices to explain their position but they had not replied, it added.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Khalid Ishaq, who was representing 10 MPAs, said the lawmakers had neither received an invitation nor the agenda for the April 1 parliamentary party meeting. In addition, only two lawmakers received show cause notices on April 7, he said.
The dissident lawmakers did not receive the declaration for disqualification sent on April 18 as well, he further said, arguing that his clients were not given the opportunity to present their stance.
“The parliamentary party’s decision is nowhere to be found,” he told the court. “A false document was made after the parliamentary party’s meeting. [Former prime minister] Imran Khan mocks the members and the ECP every day.
“[PTI’s counsel] Ali Zafar rightly said that floor crossing is a cancer [but] party dictatorship is a cancer as well.”
Ishaq argued that even if party chairman Imran’s instructions were “correct”, the MPAs could still not be disqualified.
The lawmakers had been instructed to vote for Elahi and not be absent on the day of voting, he said. He added that the MPAs were free to vote independently once Elahi boycotted the election.
“Nowhere did the party chairman issue instructions to not vote for the opposite candidate in case of a boycott.”
Similar arguments were made by Javed Malik, dissident MPA Aisha Nawaz’s counsel.
“A no-confidence motion was pending against Elahi. Can he send the [disqualification] reference despite that?”
Meanwhile, PTI’s counsel Barrister Syed Ali Zafar argued that it was being said the parliamentary party had not issued instructions.
“Article 63-A only mentions the parliamentary party, but doesn’t talk about it in detail,” he said. “The party chief or majority of the members can decide.”
Zafar contended the argument that dissident MPAs were not barred from voting for the opposing candidate was wrong.
“On April 1, all MPAs were given instructions regarding Elahi,” he said. “The chief whip at the Punjab Assembly had also written a letter to inform the MPAs. Imran Khan had tweeted about the decision as well which was read by millions of people.”
The election for the chief minister was unable to take place on April 3, he recalled. “On April 4, PTI’s secretary general Asad Umar informed the members through a letter,” he said, adding that even then the dissident members went to the private hotel where PML-N’s Hamza was elected CM in a mock session.
Zafar added that he had also submitted the receipts of courier services as evidence.
However, Advocate Salman Akram Raja, who was representing Aleem Khan objected, stating that additional documents could not be submitted at this stage.
Subsequently, the ECP did not allow the PTI to submit those receipts.
Meanwhile, Zafar continued that PTI gave multiple chances to dissident MPAs to justify their actions but none of them replied to the show cause notices.
“In their written responses [submitted to the ECP], they have admitted defection,” he said, adding that the purpose of the ECP’s hearing was to remove any shortcomings in the party chairman’s declaration. Subsequently, the ECP reserved its verdict after the completion of the arguments.
The Commission, in its May 11 verdict, had rejected the disqualification reference against the 20 MNAs of the PTI involved in floor-crossing during the no-confidence motion against PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The ECP said in its verdict that the reference against defecting MNAs of the PTI was “not in line with the Constitution”.