ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: Newly-elected speaker of the National Assembly, Chaudhry Amir Hussain, on Tuesday held that the Legal Framework Order (LFO) was a valid constitutional amendment, saying that he was very clear on it.
In his brief encounter with newsmen soon after the election of deputy speaker, he recalled that he was also elected to the 1985 National Assembly which had taken oath under the 1973 Constitution that was amended in a similar fashion as was done today.
He assured that he and the deputy speaker would try their level best to come up to the expectations of the people by running affairs of the House independently.
The new speaker, whose chamber soon after his election was thronged with a large number of MNAs with PPP forward bloc chief Faisal Saleh Hyat among them, vowed that he would run the affairs in a conducive manner by taking into confidence the House and would keep the parliamentary traditions and practices close to his heart.
“Being the custodian of the House, the speaker has a very pivotal role because this office is a very dignified and prestigious which demands great responsibility,” the speaker said. About his first day’s experience, especially after the token walkout by the PPP, MMA and PML-N, he said their role was positive and he was very satisfied over it.
About the defection clause, he said Article 63(A) of the Constitution had not yet been revived. The law of floor-crossing came into force only when a member resigned from his seat, voted contrary to his party decision in the election of the prime minister, or moved for no-confidence against the premier or during the impeachment of the president, he explained.
He described the invalid votes cast by some members as a mistake which he said could not be called as betrayal and said that he intended to resign from the seat of central working committee of the PML-Q, not from the basic membership of the party soon.
This was also a tradition which would be further strengthened if he resigned from his party’s post, he added.
Chaudhry Amir, who has been elected from NA-111 of Sialkot, said that he had seen the parliamentary traditions very closely since he had been elected as a member of parliament for the fifth time, and, therefore, he would try his level best to strengthen those democratic traditions through his conduct.
He also expressed the confidence that the members both from the treasury as well as the opposition would cooperate with him and would help him in maintaining the traditions of the House.
“After the Allah Almighty, he is grateful to the members of his party who supported him in his election to the prestigious office of the speaker,” he observed.
“I will try to demonstrate such a conduct through which the dignity and respect of the House and its members will be increased,” he observed in an upbeat mood.
He also thanked the media for their cooperation and said that his doors would remain open for them, and that he would try to have interaction with the media regularly.
A bio-data which was later circulated showed that Chaudhry Amir Hussain was born at Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in 1942. He has also served as member of the AJK Council from 1985 to 1990. He has remained the former vice-president of the Azad Jammu Muslim Conference and also a member of the National Assembly in 1985, 1988, 1990, 1997 and 2002.
He was nominated as parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Law and Justice in 1985-88 and served as the federal minister for parliamentary affairs in 1990-93.
