ISLAMABAD: PPP Secretary-General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari alleged on Sunday that National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser’s order to summon the lower house on March 25 showed that he is trying to “bailout” Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cabinet.
The PPP leader, while addressing a press conference following the NA speaker’s decision to summon a session on March 25, claimed that the ruling party has “run away from the boxing ring”.
“They have run away from the boxing ring. The current speaker is involved with them (the government). My chairman has always said that if you want to compete, then come to the Parliament,” said the former chairman senate.
Bukhari claimed that the government was not “accepting defeat” and their actions show they have lost. He reminded the reporters that the Opposition had requisitioned the session under Article 54 and should have been summoned within 14 days.
The former senator also read the oath of the NA speaker and chairman senate to inform the nation about the responsibilities of that office.
“Today’s order shows that he (NA speaker Asad Qaiser) is trying to bail out incumbent chief executive and his cabinet,” said Bukhari. He added that under the Constitution, the speaker’s 14 days were ending on March 22.
The PPP leader said that they had seen media reports that the NA session would have been summoned on March 21. He further alleged that Qaiser was not working “independently” amid the no-confidence motion submitted by the Opposition.
To further his claims, the former senator also spoke about PTI Senator Faisal Javed’s recent statement on the no-confidence motion. Bukhari questioned in what capacity the senator had said that the vote on the no-confidence motion would be held after March 27.
“The powers that the speaker has are being used by Senator Faisal Javed,” alleged Bukhari.
The PPP leader was holding the press conference after NA Speaker Qaiser issued an order to convene a crucial session of the lower house to deliberate on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan on March 25.
According to a notification, the NA session will be held at the Parliament House on Friday at 11am. Sources privy to the matter said that the government has decided to convene the NA session after consultation with the officials of the NA secretariat and legal experts during a meeting at Qaiser’s residence today.
The 14-day constitutional deadline to convene the NA session on the Opposition requisition will expire on March 21.
According to a statement issued by the NA secretariat, the session has been summoned on March 25 due to a two-day meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad.
A day earlier, the Opposition had threatened NA Speaker Asad Qaiser that it will move against him if he did not follow the rules on Monday, aiming to prevent a delay of at least four days in the vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan, The News reported.
The threat comes as a result of the Opposition's apprehension that the speaker would adjourn the first day of the requisitioned NA session tomorrow (March 21) after offering Fateha for deceased PTI MNA Haji Khayal Zaman.
Though it is not provided in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, adjourning the day's meeting after saying prayers for a departed lawmaker is a parliamentary tradition.
If the tradition is followed in tomorrow's session, which is the first day of the requisitioned sitting, the deadline for voting will fall on March 31 as there will be no sessions for at least three days, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, as these days have been declared holidays due to the OIC conference.
On the very first day of the session, the opposition will try to seek the leave of the House to table the no-trust motion and move it on the same day.
On March 8, the Opposition had submitted the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly Secretariat.
A total of 86 lawmakers from the Opposition parties had signed the no-confidence motion, sources had said. JUI-F's Shahida Akhtar Ali, PML-N's Khawaja Saad Rafique, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique and PPP's Naveed Qamar and Shazia Marri had submitted the no-trust motion and requisition for a session to the NA Secretariat.