ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has sent a reference seeking disqualification of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) lawmaker Ali Wazir to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), informed sources told Dawn.

A senior ECP official said the reference had been received on Thursday night. He said that after being processed by the legal branch, the file had been sent to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

Ali Wazir is said to have hatched a criminal conspiracy against state institutions

He said the matter would now be decided by the ECP, adding that Article 63 of the Constitution, which dealt with disqualification for membership of Majlis-i-Shoora, listed actions that could result in a lawmaker’s disqualification.

“If any question arises whether a member of parliament has become disqualified from being a member, the [National Assembly] Speaker or ... [Senate] Chairman shall, unless he decides that no such question has arisen, refer the question to the ECP within 30 days and should he fail to do so within the aforesaid period it shall be deemed to have been referred to the ECP,” the article says.

The article further states that the ECP shall decide the question within 90 days from its receipt or deemed to have been received and if it is of the opinion that the member has become disqualified, he/she shall cease to be a member and his/her seat shall become vacant.

Though the grounds for disqualification mentioned in the reference against Ali Wazir were not shared, some say he has been accused of hatching a criminal conspiracy against state institutions.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police arrested MNA Ali Wazir last month in connection with a case registered against him and several leaders of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement in Karachi after a public meeting.

They have been accused of committing several offences, including hatching a criminal conspiracy and passing derogatory remarks against state institutions.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2021