The federal government has decided to approach the Supreme Court for interpretation of Article 63-A as several PTI lawmakers have announced to vote on the no-trust motion, in a violation of the party policy, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Friday.
The decision was taken during a consultative meeting of the PTI’s political committee held with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair. The meeting was convened to discuss the legal options available to act against the disgruntled lawmakers and counter the Opposition’s move to dislodge the government of Imran Khan.
In a series of tweets, Fawad Chaudhry said the government would file a petition under Article 186 of the Constitution to seek the interpretation of Article 63-A.
“ we will seek the Supreme Court’s interpretation as to what will be the standing of a party member’s vote who is found in violation of the party’s policy and is involved in horse-trading,” the federal minister said.
The information minister said the government would seek the apex court’s guidance on whether a person, who shifts loyalty for monetary benefit, should be ineligible for a lifetime for becoming a lawmaker or whether they could contest polls again and be elected to parliament.
“The Supreme Court will be requested to hear the case on a daily basis,” he said.
The prime minister, according to sources, assigned the responsibility for filing the reference in the apex court to PTI Additional Secretary Amir Mahmood Kiani and Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan.
“We will take such decisions that no one will be able to indulge in horsetrading next time,” the prime minister told the participants.
The premier also directed the PTI leaders present in the meeting to ramp up the preparations for the March 27 rally — where the ruling party plans on gathering one million people, a day before the voting on the no-trust motion. “All the lawmakers and party members should participate,” he said. “No matter how much money they spend to remove me, I will fight them,” he said.
Moreover, the prime minister, according to sources, decided against taking extreme measures and announced that the federal government will not impose the governor’s rule in Sindh.
