KARACHI: Against the backdrop of the current political crisis as well as hitches in the passage of the delimitation bill from the Senate, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Wednesday voiced fears that assemblies may not be able to complete their term.

Talking to a private news channel, he said except for one party, all political parties wanted the government to complete its five-year term.

He told Geo News that uncertainty loomed large because of the delay in the passage of the delimitation bill and a “greater plan” which he hinted had been devised by shadowy forces.

He suspected that some people might use the option of submitting resignations from assemblies.

The speaker said he was disappointed by politics for the first time. “I was not this upset even in 2002 during Musharraf’s tenure as I’m now,” he said.

He said his sixth sense was telling him that “something” was going to happen.

He, however, maintained that chances of martial law were slim.

About the delimitation bill, he said that the Election Commission of Pakistan had given five months for delimitation of constituencies before holding the next general elections.

Talking about the Faizabad sit-in, Mr Sadiq said the government could not do much as it was feared that even the slightest use of force would wreak havoc.

He emphasised that there was a need to strengthen the country’s system as “external threats are much bigger than internal threats”. The Pakistan Peoples Party has played a vital role in this regard as they have been saying since day one that the system must not be derailed, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2017