ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that parliam­ent, which is the supreme institution, has converted a rule into a law to stop floor crossing, as envisaged in the Constitution.

Speaking at a presser, he said PML-N’s Bilal Azhar Kayani had presented the Elections Act (2nd Amendment) Bill in the National Assembly, whereas Senator Talal Chaudhry moved it in the Senate.

The minister said the bill was passed by the Na­­tional Assembly and the Senate by majority votes. He said the Consti­tution is clear regarding the scourge of floor crossing.

According to the rules, he said, an independent ca­ndidate has to join a pa­rty within three days after the announcement of official results of elections.

The minister wondered whether a member’s party could be changed after submitting an affidavit.

He said that two Supreme Court judges have raised important points and said that even after 15 days, the detailed judgement of the apex court’s decision to restore PTI to parliament had not been issued by the majority of judges on the bench.

Mr Tarar said that PTI-backed independent lawmakers had joined a party that did not exist in the parliament, so how could that party get any seat as those seats are distributed proportionally.

Moreover, he said, under the proportional representation rules, it is binding on each political party to display its candidates’ lists for both women and minority seats.

About the situation in Bangladesh, he said the government and people of Pakistan stood with the people of Bangladesh. He appreciated the determination and resilience of the people of Bangladesh for standing up against a corrupt regime.

In Pakistan, he said, the PTI founding chairman compared himself with Sheikh Mujeeb eu-logising Sheikh Mujeeb’s stance in 1971 which Pakistanis considered as against ‘national interests’.

Now, he said, when the statues of Sheikh Mujeeb have been pulled down in Bangladesh, the PTI has taken a U-turn.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024