PESHAWAR: Confusion ensued about its passage after Dr Haider Ali of the PTI on Tuesday tabled a resolution in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation over the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panamagate case.

The government insisted the house passed the resolution unanimously, while the opposition lawmakers rejected the claim saying neither the resolution was tabled in line with the rules of business nor was it put to vote.

The resolution was uploaded on the website of the assembly soon after the session’s adjournment as approved.

Deputy speaker Dr Mehar Taj Roghani chaired the session.

Govt claims resolution unanimously approved, opposition insist it wasn’t put to vote

The PTI lawmaker tabled the resolution when almost all opposition and treasury members stood in front of the speaker’s podium shouting ‘go Nawaz go’ and ‘go Imran go’.

The opposition members had gathered there to protest the chair’s ‘discriminatory attitude’ of not allowing them to speak against the amendment to the KP Ehtesab Commission. The treasury members followed suit and thus causing rumpus.

In the resolution, Dr Haider Ali said in the April 20 Supreme Court judgment, none of the judges of the relevant Supreme Court bench gave the prime minister and his family members a ‘clear chit’ in Panama Leaks case.

He said two senior most judges of the bench declared the prime minister disqualified for the office, while all judges were of the view that the prime minister couldn’t prove that his assets were acquired by legal means, and therefore, further inquiry into the matter was ordered.

“This house believes that the prime minister has lost his moral authority, and demands his resignation immediately until the final decision (in the case by the Supreme Court),” the resolution read.

The resolution was signed by senior minister Sikandar Sherpao and PPP parliamentary leader Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha.

Neither the assembly staff members nor journalists saw the chair put the resolution to vote for approval. However, minutes after it was tabled, the resolution was uploaded on the assembly’s website declaring it was ‘passed unanimously’.

Parliamentary leader of the opposition PML-N Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha insisted that the house didn’t pass the resolution.

He said under the house’s rules of business, a member was required to request the chair to relax the relevant rules to allow him or her to table a resolution and once the request was accepted, the speaker allowed the member to go ahead after the approval of the house.

“In this case, the PTI lawmaker didn’t follow the procedure and moved the resolution in violation of the rules of business.”

The opposition member also insisted that the deputy speaker didn’t put the resolution to vote and therefore, it didn’t stand approved.

“It is a fraud if the government claims the resolution has been passed unanimously. No one uttered the word ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the resolution. I wonder how the house could pass a resolution and that, too, unanimously, which was never placed before it,” he said.

In the session, the house also amended the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act 14, empowering the administrative committee of the Peshawar High Court and KP advocate general to recommend suitable names for key slots in the commission, including commissioners, director general, prosecutors general and director internal monitoring and public complaint wings.

The bill was tabled by MPA Mohammad Arif.

The house also passed another amendment to the law decreasing the number of KPEC commissioners from the current five to two. The approved bill however stated the current commissioners would stay put until their respective terms in office ended.

ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak declared the amendment to the KPEC Act a violation of Article 175 of the Constitution.

“The judiciary cannot be assigned the executive’s powers,” he told Dawn.

Mr Babak also insisted the PTI resolution seeking the premier’s resignation was not passed by the house as no voting was held on it.

The chair later adjourned the session until Friday.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2017