ISLAMABAD: Asad Umar, the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms, and Special Initiatives announced on Sunday that a reference for the interpretation of Article 63A will be submitted in the Supreme Court today (Monday).
In a tweet, the minister, who is also the PTI’s secretary-general, said the reference was “ready” to be filed.
“Hopefully the case will put the bizarre trade of buying loyalties and becoming a turncoat in politics to an end forever and the influence of money in politics would be reduced,” Umar wrote.
Aitzaz Ahsan, a former law minister, and famous constitutional expert claimed that Article 63A applies to a member who votes against his party’s agenda and that a member of the assembly cannot be removed without casting a vote.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused the opposition of using large sums of money to buy the conscience and loyalty of members of his party in exchange for support for a no-confidence resolution. The opposition, on the other hand, has challenged the government to produce such proof.
During his remarks at the Rawalpindi Ring Road ground-breaking event, Prime Minister Imran Khan called on the PTI’s exiled members of the National Assembly to return.
“I will give them the benefit of the doubt,” he remarked.
PTI’s Secretary General Asad Umar issued show-cause notices to as many as 13 MNAs of PTI (who had publicly announced plans to vote according to the call of their conscience and denied outright the money factor in this connection).
The government has petitioned the Supreme Court for clarification on Article 63 (A)
The government had decided to appeal to the Supreme Court for an interpretation of Article 63(A) after numerous PTI MPs indicated that they would vote on the no-trust resolution, which was against party doctrine.
The decision was made during a consultative meeting of the PTI’s political committee on Friday, which was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The group went reviewed the legal alternatives for dealing with unhappy MPs and countering the opposition’s attempt to unseat Imran Khan’s government.
24 PTI MNAs are seeking asylum in Sindh House
24 PTI MNAs moved to the Sindh House a few days ago, fearing that the government would act against them in the same way that the police raided the Parliament Lodges on March 10.
MNA Raja Riaz, a member of the Jahangir Tareen party, told journalist Hamid Mir that unhappy members will vote in favor of the no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan “according to their conscience.”
