Punjab Governor removed through adopting legal way
Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
The National Assembly on Wednesday called upon President Dr Arif Alvi to act in a non-partisan manner and perform his functions strictly in accordance with Article 48 of the Constitution.
The lower house of parliament passed the resolution with a majority vote which was moved by Member National Assembly Mohsin Dawar.
“This House resolves under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, obedience to the Constitution and the law, is the invaluable obligation of every citizen wherever he may be, and of every other person for time being within Pakistan,” the resolution stated.
According to the oath of the office of the president, he or she will not allow his “personal interests” to influence his official conduct or his official decisions. He is also bound to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
“This House takes strong exception to the Constitutional stance taken by the President and refusal to adhere to implement the Constitution in letter and spirit, and also to follow the norms of parliamentary democracy.”
The Grand Democratic Alliance, led by MNAs Ghous Bux Mahar and Dr Fehmida Mirza, opposed the resolution.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar clarified that a legal and constitutional procedure was followed to remove the Governor of Punjab.
Responding to the points of opposition members, the law minister said that it is a parliamentary democracy and the President is bound to follow the advice of the Prime Minister under the constitution.
Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali also echoed the remarks of the Law Minister saying there are also decisions of courts on the matter. The house adopted a resolution stressing that obedience to the constitution is obligatory on every citizen.
Fehmida Mirza of GDA said all the institutions including the judiciary, the armed forces and the presidency should be respected.
The House was informed that wheat procurement target set for the current season will be achieved by the end of June 2022. Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar told the House during question hour that the country is self-sufficient in wheat production but over the last two years, a shortfall has been witnessed due to various factors including non-availability of timely fertilizers to the farmers, climate change and shortage of water.
He said government has decided to import three million metric tons of wheat to meet domestic requirements. He said it has also been decided to take firm action against hoarding and smuggling of the commodity.
