Shehbaz said that Speaker’s ruling on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan was a “blatant violation of the Constitution”, reports Asian Lite News
Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, informed President Arif Alvi on Wednesday that the Opposition does not agree with the suggestion of appointing Justice (Retd) Gulzar Ahmed as the interim Prime Minister and that the process for the appointment issued by the head of the state was a “violation of law and Constitution”, Geo News reported.
In a letter, Sharif confirmed to the President that he had received the latter’s April 4 message regarding the appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister.
Sharif, who’s also the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), informed Alvi that the Speaker’s ruling on April 3 on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan was a “blatant violation of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan” and the “Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business” of the Lower House.
“The entire super-structure built thereon, including all consequential notifications relating to dismissal of the resolution, advice of the Prime Minister regarding dissolution of the National Assembly, and continuation of the Prime Minister in office are all illegal, without lawful authority and of no legal effect,” wrote Shehbaz.
The former Opposition leader also informed President Alvi that the Supreme Court is holding suo motu hearings on the National Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling.
“Thus, the process of appointing a caretaker Prime Minister initiated by you under Article 224(1A) of the Continuation in a hurried manner is simply to defeat the process of law and Constitution without waiting for the decision in the sou motu case and petitions filed by combined Opposition parties and other petitions challenging the rejection of the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister and prorogation of requisitioned session of National Assembly by the Deputy Speaker and consequent dissolution of National Assembly by Prime Minister, which are still pending adjudication before the Supreme Court.
“Thus the start of the said process by you is not acceptable as it is violation of the law and Constitution and is subjudice,” wrote Shehbaz, Geo News reported.
The PML-N President also said that Gulzar Ahmed’s nomination as caretaker premier by Imran Khan was a “blatant attempt to subvert the provisions of the Constitution and to pre-empt the decision of the Supreme Court”.
He added that all issues, including the violation of Article 244 and 224A at this point, are “subjudice” and informed the President that the Opposition does not agree with the suggestion of appointing Gulzar Ahmed as the caretaker Prime Minister.
Dates for elections
Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to propose dates for the next general elections, which will be held within 90 days following the dissolution of the National Assembly, The News reported.
“In a letter dated April 5, 2022 addressed to ECP, the President’s Secretariat asked to propose date(s) for holding general elections within 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, i.e., April 3, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan,” the Pak President House said in a statement.
The letter mentioned that the ECP has been conveyed that clause 5 (A) of the Article 48 and clause 2 of Article 224 of the Constitution provide that the president shall appoint a date, not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, for holding general elections to the National Assembly.
“In order to carry out the mandate of the Constitution of announcing the date of general elections, consultation with the Election Commission is required under Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017,” the letter stated.
It is pertinent to mention that the president had dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan on April 3 following a controversial ruling of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejecting the no-trust motion against the premier, plunging the country in a constitutional crisis.
The president had also written a letter to the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif to recommend names for the caretaker prime minister.
To this, the PTI nominated former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed, while the PML-N president denied receiving the letter officially and said he would consult other opposition leaders in this regard.
