ISLAMABAD: In a National Assembly with 313 members, Adil Bazai is an anomaly. A lawmaker from Quetta, he is part of PML-N as per official records, but is often found on the opposition benches, criticising the government.

It is also unclear which party supported him during the February 8 general election.

According to the National Assembly website, Mr Bazai contested the election from Quetta’s NA-262 constituency.

A source told Dawn that he won as an independent candidate, but later joined PML-N. Within three days of the election, he submitted an affidavit to the ECP, per the source.

Quetta MNA Bazai, who joined ruling party after winning as ‘independent’, is often seen siding with opposition

However, a list of PTI-backed independent candidates issued by the party before the elections included Mr Bazai’s name as its contestant for NA-261.

Now, more than seven months after the elections, the government has finally decided to move against Mr Bazai and file a reference against him with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a government source told Dawn.

Dawn made several attempts to contact Mr Bazai, but he didn’t respond to requests for comment.

De-seating

As per the law, an independent candidate cannot switch sides after submitting an allegiance affidavit to the ECP.

Yet, Mr Bazai has been repeatedly seen siding with the PTI and SIC members. Amid all the brouhaha surrounding the ‘Constitutional Package’, Mr Bazai allegedly went ‘missing’, with PTI claiming it to be a tactic to pressure its members to vote in favour of the amendments.

Interestingly, around the same time, an unofficial list of members issued by the NA on Sept 18 listed one independent candidate as having joined the opposition.

If a reference is moved against Mr Bazai for conduct against party policy, he would be served a show cause notice.

If he is found to have violated the party whip, he could be disqualified in line with Article 63(A) of the Constitution, which states that if a member votes against the direction issued by the parliamentary party during the election of the prime minister or the chief minister, vote of confidence or no-confidence; or budget, they may be “declared in writing by the party head to have defected from the political party”.

Mr Bazai has also been accused of not casting his vote at the time of the election of PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif as PM, a source in the National Assembly said.

If Mr Bazai loses his seat, which sources say seems highly likely, it will change the composition of the lower house of parliament.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2024