ISLAMABAD: The controversy over re-election of Nawaz Sharif as PML-N chief has refused to die down, with the opposition-dominated Senate on Monday passing a bill to bring back the bar on those disqualified to become a lawmaker from holding a party office with a majority vote of 49 against 18.

The passage of the bill revives almost the similar proviso of Section 203 (1) of the Political Parties Order, 2002, which had been struck off by the house when it adopted the unified electoral law on Sept 22. The bill was also later passed by the National Assembly to become an act of parliament, paving the way for Mr Sharif to be re-elected as PML-N president.

The bill, however, is unlikely to have an implication for Mr Sharif as the PML-N enjoys a big majority in the National Assembly where the amendment is set to be rejected and ultimately the matter will go to a joint sitting of parliament where the overall numerical strength of the PML-N and its allies puts them in a comfortable position.

Amendment may be rejected by National Assembly where PML-N enjoys majority

The proviso now added to the Section 203 (1) reads “provided that the person shall not be appointed or serve as an office-bearer of a political party if he is not qualified to be, or is disqualified from being, elected or chosen as a member of parliament under any law for time being in force”.

An amendment in the section had been proposed by the opposition in the Senate at the time of passage of the election bill as well, but was surprisingly defeated as the house witnessed some opposition lawmakers mainly from the MQM and PTI mysteriously slipping out and a lone member of the MQM out of the total eight voting in favour of the bill.

Show of unity

But this time around the opposition demonstrating complete unity with the PPP, PTI, MQM, PML-Q, JI and all the five out of total eight Fata senators present in the house voted in support of the amendment.

Senator Atiq Ahmad Sheikh of the MQM who had voted for the government last time also supported the opposition’s amendment. The lone traditional supporter of the government who sits on the opposition benches — Jehanzaib Jamaldani of the BNP-M — was not present in the house.

Opposing the amendment, Law Minister Zahid Hamid asserted that the amendment had been proposed when there was no mention of the Panama Papers and observed that it was unfair to term it person-specific.

The leave to introduce the bill was given by the house with a majority vote of 46 against 21, following which the opposition sought suspension of rules to take up the bill for consideration at once, which was opposed by the government. The motion for suspension of rules was carried with 47 votes against 23.

Shibli Faraz of the PTI, who introduced the bill in the house, said the controversial amendment that had earlier been made in Section 203 of the PPO was mockery of a judicial verdict and was thus a stigma for parliament.

The treasury benches, however, kept on criticising the opposition for reviving a law that had been framed by a dictator and had been reversed by the late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Former information minister Pervez Rashid pointed out that many of those who presented the bill included those who had struggled for democracy. He wondered how they became hostage today. “Those thumping the desk to celebrate passage of the bill were jubilating over their own murder,” he remarked.

He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been hanged in the name of accountability before the elections. He said Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated on a road because her presence was a source of strength for politics and democracy. He said Nawaz Sharif had also been disqualified months before the elections.

He told the opposition that the snapshots of Nawaz Sharif will not let them win polls, be he the PML-N chief or not. He said the opposition would regret its decision to get an unjust bill passed on the basis of its brute majority in the house.

Hafiz Hamdullah of the JUI-F regretted that those who claimed to be champions of democracy were passing a black law. Usman Kakar of the PkMAP said a wrong law being framed today would hit those who were looking for short-term benefits of it.

Rehman Malik of the PPP termed the qualification and disqualification clauses (Articles 62 and 63) as substantive part of the Constitution and noted that the spirit of the clause could not be defeated by an amendment. He termed the controversial deletion of the proviso from Section 203 (1) of the PPO a blunder and said the opposition had made a timely move to address the mistake.

Sherry Rehman said the law had been amended to politically strengthen an individual.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2017