Opposition on Saturday submitted a requisition with Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, seeking early session of the Punjab Assembly to discuss the arrest of former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif by the National Accountability Bureau.
Signed by over 125 lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), MPAs Samiullah Khan, Bilal Tarar, Zeeshan Rafique and Yousaf Kaselia submitted the requisition under Article 54 (3) read with Article 127 of constitution of Pakistan to discuss what they described as the “unjustified arrest of Opposition Leader in National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif based on political victimisation”.
It would be the second session in a row if convened on the requisition of the opposition as the last session was also summoned after submission of their requisition.
Interestingly, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar on Saturday summoned the Punjab Assembly budget session for October 16, triggering a debate whether the government would convene the session on the requisition of opposition or would it go-ahead with the budget session convened by the governor.
According to rules, the speaker is bound to call the assembly session within 14 days if a requisition is signed by not less than one-fourth members of the total strength of the House. In a House of 371, at least 93 MPAs are required to give a requisition to the speaker for summoning the Punjab Assembly session and PML-N has 162 MPAs in the House.
Talking to Daily Times, MPA Samiullah Khan said, “We cannot wait for October 16 due to the severity of the issue. When a requisition is submitted with the speaker having signatures of required numbers then it becomes a binding on him to convene the session within 14 days and it doesn’t matter that the session is already summoned by the governor. ”
He alleged the PA Speaker Elahi was biased in his conduct and added that he should be impartial being the custodian of the House.
A senior official of the Punjab Assembly, wishing anonymity, told Daily Times that the government had “played smartly by convening the session for October 16 as it was anticipating that the opposition might move a requisition on Saturday to discuss the arrest of Shehbaz.
“In the past, we haven’t seen that the notification is issued ten days before calling the session. It was truly a political move from the government to avoid the requisition of the opposition,” the official added.
Meanwhile, PML-N lawmaker Hina Pervez Butt submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly condemning the arrest of Shehbaz. “The arrest of Nawaz Sharif before general elections and the arrest of Shehbaz Sharif before by-elections had raised many questions, she said in the resolution.
Published in Daily Times, September 7th 2018.
