MPs bashing army should be disqualified: Shujaat

 

LAHORE: PML-Q chief Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain says those raising a hue and cry over Article 6 of the Constitution should also read Article 63(g) that clearly states that any parliamentarian who tries to defame the judiciary and the armed forces or uses derogatory language against them will lose their membership of parliament.
Addressing a lawyers’ convention at the Muslim League House here on Saturday, Senator Shujaat said such a big gathering of the protectors of law testifies to the popularity of his party. He said the PML was not defeated by votes but by returning officers (ROs).

He said his party would not allow the passage of the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) in its current form. He said a legal cell had been established at the Muslim League House to provide assistance to the poor and the destitute.

Shujaat said the first requirement of law and justice was that everyone should be kept and seen at an equal level without prejudice. “Why is the govt not proceeding against those ministers and disqualifying them under Article 63(g) for publicly admitting that they had delivered speeches against the army and were taking their revenge?”

He said the PML would not have regretted the fact had it lost elections by votes. “Everyone knows that if a commission is set up or an inquiry is held at any time then every bag to be opened will give the same results which were shown in Karachi,” he added.

Shujaat welcomed the decision of the incumbent chief justice of Pakistan to set the provision of justice at a lower level as his first priority. “We should all try to make Pakistan a welfare state as envisioned by Quaid-i-Azam where all citizens, including the minorities, should be equal and the state should protect the life and property of everyone.”

He expressed the hope that the CJ would take practical steps, including the constitution of a special cell, to save overseas Pakistanis’ costly properties from forcible occupation.

The convention was attended by prominent lawyers in large numbers from all over the province. On the stage were seated Aslam Zaar, Asif Cheema, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Ch Anwar Bhinder, Mian Munir, Malik Shakeel Sikander, Engineer Shehzad Elahi, Qamar Hayat Kathia, Abdullah Yousuf and others while Alamgir advocate, Kamil Ali Agha, Muhammad Basharat Raja and Ch Zaheeruddin Khan also addressed the convention.

Lashing out at the incumbent government, the PML leaders said even judges were saying that people were not being provided articles of daily use and fundamental rights. They said according to the superior judiciary, in Punjab alone the accused were acquitted in 90 per cent of cases due to the defective performance of the police and prosecution.

They said today neither bread (roti) nor employment was available to the masses in the Punjab. They said the election of Muslim League representatives in the elections of bar associations was proof of good work done during the PML tenure.

NA panel to investigate allegations against MPs

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday presented themselves for audit of their accounts and assets as the National Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution for setting up of a special committee to investigate the allegation of non-payment of taxes by a number of parliamentarians.

Through the motion, the House authorised the Speaker to constitute a committee of 10 members belonging to major political parties to investigate the allegation of non-payment of taxes by a number of parliamentarians and present a report within 90 days.

The motion under Rule 244 (B) was moved by PTI members Asad Umar, Lt. Col (retd) Amirullah Marwat, Ayesha Gulalai and others.Moving the motion, Asad Umar said fingers had already been pointed at parliament regarding non-payment of taxes. He was of the view that people would not believe in verbal clarification, therefore, it was necessary to form a special committee to investigate the allegations against parliamentarians to find out who had not been paying taxes.

Speaking on the motion, Syed Khursheed Shah said that he was ready to give details of his assets and those of his family members. He further said that he and his family members did not own any assets outside the country.

He also emphasised the need for enhancing the tax-to-GDP ratio for bringing an improvement in education and health sectors as well as alleviation of poverty.Imran Khan said tax collection could not be improved unless the politicians themselves set the example.He said there were no assets in his name outside the country. “If it is proved that I own any assets outside the country, then I am ready to donate these assets to Pakistan,” he said.

Fresh polls if MPs blackmailed me for ministries: Imran

ISLAMABAD: Facing a split-like situation in the party, PTI chief Imran Khan on Friday hinted at the dissolution of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly if the forward bloc MPAs tried to blackmail him for ministries.

“No one can blackmail me for the ministerial posts. If someone tried to blackmail me, we will dissolve the assembly and hold the polls afresh,” asserted Imran while talking to media persons after meeting with acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Nasirul Mulk here.

Already irked by reports of corruption and nepotism in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Imran had recently said the PTI would prefer to sit in the opposition if the level of governance was not improved there.

He was responding to the creation of a forward bloc in the PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa whom he was to meet any time Friday.Imran said it was the democratic right of lawmakers to apprise him of their concerns but no one could blackmail him for a place in the provincial cabinet.

About the last year’s general election, he said today the judiciary and the media were free but the Election Commission was not. “Without free and transparent election, real democracy is impossible,” he maintained.

Those who made their way to the legislature by coercion, corruption and rigging, he continued, could never bring about a revolution or combat corruption. Regarding his meeting with the acting chief election commissioner, Imran said they had conveyed their concerns to the acting chief election commissioner and he had listened to them with patience and responded positively.

He recalled how they had been demanding verification of thumb impressions of voters in only four constituencies whereas some 70 petitions were with the election tribunals.Imran called for the initiation of criminal proceedings against the presiding officers and putting them behind the bars for involvement in rigging.

In this context, he referred to a polling station where the total numbers of registered voters was 1,500 but 8,000 votes were polled.He demanded action against such election officers under Article 6 of the Constitution for denying people their fundamental right to vote. He referred to the 2,100-page white paper his party had released showing how the returning officers and presiding officers indulged in rigging.

The PTI chief castigated the ruling PML-N and PPP for sticking to their old-fashioned policy under an underhand deal.Imran said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would be ready for the local bodies election by April 30, as delimitation had been completed and no one had objected to the process.