Federal Cabinet approves formation of special committee to deliberate treason proceedings against PTI leadership
ISLAMABAD, July 15 (SABAH): Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that federal cabinet has constituted a special committee to deliberate whether action should be taken against the PTI leadership under Article 6 of the Constitution.
Article 6 states that 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 development on the government exploring Article 6 proceedings against the PTI leadership comes after the Supreme Court released a detailed judgment explaining the reasons why it dismissed former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri’s controversial ruling on no-trust move against then-prime minister Imran Khan.
Addressing a press conference, Marriyum Aurangzeb shed light on the decisions taken by the federal cabinet met under the chair of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. A special committee has been formed headed by Minister for Law and Justice Senator Chaudhry Azam Nazeer Tarar, which will present its suggestions in the next federal cabinet meeting.
She said that the committee would present a report on the implementation of the points put forward by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and will suggest an inquiry under Article 6 and other laws to prevent constitutional violations from occurring in the future. She said that the Prime Minister and the ministers have lauded the detailed verdict.
“The judgment has proven that the previous government passed unconstitutional orders,” she said, adding that now is the time to decide whether the “murder of Pakistan’s Constitution, democracy, and laws” is acceptable.
“Hence, the cabinet committee will suggest measures that can be taken against Imran Khan and his government for violating the Constitution and present a report in the next meeting,” she added.
While talking about the Tayyab Gul case, the minister also said that the cabinet has approved the formation of an independent inquiry commission to investigate it.
In 2019, a video clip surfaced featuring Gul and then-National Accountability Bureau chairman retired Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, which politicians later alleged was used to “blackmail” him into moving against the then-opposition.
Earlier this month, she appeared before the Public Accounts Committee and made shocking allegations about Iqbal.
Merriyum Aurangzeb said that Gul had also claimed that she was “held captive at the Prime Minister’s Office for 18 days” during Imran’s tenure.
“She had filed a harassment complaint at the PM’s portal after which she was called to the PM’s Office and illegally held captive,” the minister said.
Later, all the evidence and videos collected in the case were used against the NAB chief, she alleged. “Imran Khan blackmailed Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal and compromised an institution for political means,” she claimed.
“Therefore, we have decided to form an inquiry commission,” she said, adding that the law minister would work on formulating the body’s terms of reference and present them before the cabinet at the next meeting.
She said that cabinet also reiterated to complete the IMF programme for development and economic self-reliance of the country.
She said the meeting validated the decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). These decisions include import of three million tons of wheat and permission to import luxury items lying on ports by paying additional duty of five percent and 15 percent as per their arrival at ports after the ban in import of luxury items.
The minister said the cabinet approved an amnesty on overstay for foreign citizens till December 31 this year. An awareness campaign will also be launched by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding this amnesty, she added.