Enraged with their “biased remarks” about the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the joint opposition has decided to table no-confidence motions against National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri.
The draft of the no-trust motions against the speaker and his deputy, signed by more than 100 MNAs, has been sent to the opposition’s leadership, insiders said.
As per the draft of the no-trust move, the NA speaker and his deputy have been accused of being biased. It said that the duo has violated the rules as they have not yet resigned from their party’s posts.
The duo has been running the house as per the directions of their party and instead of remaining neutral, they have been exhibiting a biased attitude against the Opposition, the sources said quoting the draft.
“Asad Qaiser and Qasim Khan Suri have been attending the party meetings held with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair,” it added.
The fate of the duo is expected to be decided in a meeting of the heads of the Opposition parties scheduled for Monday, the sources added.
The joint opposition on Saturday took strong exception to Speaker Asad Qaiser’s remarks about the possibility of failure of the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan.
They had said that the speaker could not make partisan statements, and he exhibited a biased attitude against the opposition.
PPP Parliamentary leader in Senate Sherry Rehman had said that his act by itself renders himself unfit to preside over any such session, and by saying that the vote of no-confidence was a foreign conspiracy, he was suggesting that the PTI government was only in place due to foreign support.
“Is he a PTI office-bearer or the speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, where he was supposed to safeguard the integrity of the outcome by remaining neutral,” she had added.
Sherry said by saying that the vote of no-confidence would be defeated, Asad Qaiser betrayed his office, and “in my view, he cannot preside over the House or the process”.
The senator had said the PTI seemed to be operating from a place of deranged paranoia, as they claim that the no-confidence motion was an international conspiracy against the prime minister and his party; the truth is that the government needs a reality check.
“Over the years, the constant contradiction of his own statement has become the prime minister’s international identity, now the incumbent government is pushing the country towards a constitutional crisis and a national security catastrophe,” she had added.
Sherry had said no-trust motion seems to have pushed the entire government over the edge of reason.
“The irony is that that actions of the government in the aftermath of the vote of no-confidence only proves that the PTI is completely incompetent and incapable of governing the country,” she had said.
Former speaker National Assembly and PML-N senior leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had also criticised Asad Qaiser’s statement.
“By giving the statement that no-confidence motion will fail, and terming it an international conspiracy, the speaker has become controversial,” he had said.
Sadiq had asked him to present some evidence before to the nation to prove that the Opposition’s motion against PM Imran is a world conspiracy. He had questioned the NA speaker whether inflation, record foreign debt, economic catastrophe, unemployment, budget deficit were all foreign conspiracies.
“His statement is in clear contradiction to the constitutional and parliamentary requirements of the Speaker’s Office,” he had added.
He had said if Asad Qaiser was so sure that the no-confidence motion would fail, he should immediately convene the NA session.
PPP senior leader Naveed Qamar had said “Speaker’s clear inclination towards the government is a matter of concern.” He had said Asad Qaiser had made himself controversial by issuing such a statement.
“Important sessions of the National Assembly should be chaired in an impartial manner,” urged Qamar.
