Skip to main content

NA secretariat list shows 80 PTI MNAs as SIC lawmakers despite SC reserved seats verdict

The National Assembly Secretariat has shown 80 PTI MNAs as part of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in an updated list of the actual party positions in parliament’s lower house after accounting for the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict in the reserved seats’ case, it emerged on Friday.


In July, the top court declared the PTI eligible to receive reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies, giving it a new lease on life in the legislature by declaring it a parliamentary party.


The SC dealt a further major blow to the PML-N-led coalition government on Saturday, as it reprimanded the Election Commi­ssion of Pakistan (ECP) for not implementing its July 12 judgement, further complicating the Shehbaz Sharif-led administration’s efforts to secure the required numbers to pass a controversial Constitutional Package related to the judiciary.


The SC clarified that as per the position, 41 returned candidates, out of a total of 80 MNAs, would remain members of the PTI and, consequently, members of the PTI’s parliamentary party in both the national and provincial assemblies, for all constitutional and legal purposes. The ECP had already notified 39 of the lawmakers as PTI MNAs but was undecided on the remaining 41.


However, a list from the NA Secretariat dated September 18 (Wednesday), available with Dawn.com, reflecting the “actual party position” after the July 12 verdict showed the 80 MNAs to be part of the SIC.


The list showed eight seats for PTI-backed independents. It said that there were a total of 336 seats in the NA with 313 lawmakers and 23 vacant or disputed seats that were to be allocated to the PTI.


The disputed seats were those that were originally allocated to the PML-N, PPP, and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) after the ECP had ruled in March that the SIC was not entitled to claim quota for reserved seats.


Meanwhile, the positions for the other parties are as follows: PML-N (110), PPP (69), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (22), JUI-F (8), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (5), Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (4) and one each for the Pakistan Muslim League-Zia, Balochistan Awami Party, National Party, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Balochistan National Party-Mengal and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen.


The list by the NA Secretariat surfaced a day after NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq wrote a letter to the ECP, stating that the judgment on reserved seats “cannot be implemented under the Amended Election Act, 2017”.


Sadiq had urged the body to honour laws made by parliament, insis­ting that the amended Elections Act prevents independent lawmakers from switching parties.


He had alleged that the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling enabled a candidate to switch political parties and argued that this went against the amended Elections Act, which he said now has overriding authority.


The ECP has remained undecided on the implementation of SC’s verdict and held a meeting to deliberate on the apex court’s judgment and its September 14 order in response to the clarification sought by the commission, sources had told Dawn.


http://dlvr.it/TDTwnj

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Student council oath-taking ceremony

Islamabad:The Millennium College hosted a Student Council Investiture Ceremony 2019 at its Flagship Campus, I-9/3, says a press release.The student council comprising of AS & A Level, IBDP program and IGCSE’s vowed under oath that they will be active and responsible members of the student executive council and will abide by the laws made by the college and the managing body to guarantee themselves and the student body a better campus life.Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi graced the occasion and inducted the School’s Head Boy Sarosh Atif and Head Girl Qirrat Ali as well as the Executive Council Members of all clubs and societies established within the school system. After administering the oath, Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi along with the Founder & Chairman The Millennium Education Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq, Director International Qualifications Azra Tahir and Principal of Millennium College, Campus I-9/3, Muneeze Muzzafar awarded sashes, badges and certificates to the members of the co...

3 drug pushers, bootlegger held

Islamabad :Islamabad Industrial Area Police have arrested three drug pushers and a bootlegger besides recovery of narcotics and 120 liter liquor from them, a police spokesman said.According to details, a police team of Industrial Area police station arrested three drug pushers namely Kamran, Irfan and Shamoon Masih and recovered 320 gram heroin and 210 gram hashish from them,.Another police team arrested a bootlegger namely Ansar Javed and recovered 120 liter wine, bottles, stickers and brewing equipment from him. Cases have been registered against these nabbed persons and further investigation is underway from them.SP (Industrial Area) Zubair Ahmad Shaikh has said that Industrial Area zone police is doing its job efficiently and crackdown against criminals would be continued.Despite the sit in, he said Islamabad Police has been performing its duty quite efficiently and has successfully managed to maintain the daily life in the Capital.In this regard, Senior Police officers including S...

Pragmatic steps taken to implement Axle Load Control regime on NH&MP

Islamabad: Ministry of Communications has taken pragmatic steps to implement the Axle Load Control regime on Motorways & National Highways in the country. Sole objective of this move is to control travelling of overloaded vehicles which lead to fatal accidents besides damaging the national asset of road network of billions of rupees.Prior to implementation of axle load control regime, a technical committee was formed, consisting of officers from Ministry of Communications and National Highway Authority which remained in constant contacts with transport community, Members of the Chambers of Commerce and stakeholders hailing from all the provinces. This technical committee visited their offices and held detailed discussions in series of meetings and took them into confidence to facilitate implementation of Axle Load Control regime. The stakeholders assured of their full cooperation and subsequently, implementation of Axle Load Control was realized which is in progress.It is worth to ...