ISLAMABAD: Angered by his recent “biased comments” regarding a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the opposition is set to get rid of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri through a no-confidence motion. against them, geo news Quoting sources.
Sources familiar with the matter said that the draft no-confidence motion signed by over 100 MNAs against the NA president and vice-president has been sent to the opposition leadership.
According to the draft no-confidence motion, the NA president and his deputy have been accused of being biased. It said that both have violated the rules as they have not yet resigned from their party posts.
Sources, citing the draft, said that both are running the House as per the instructions of their party and instead of remaining neutral, are showing a partisan attitude against the opposition.
It said, “Assad Qaiser and Qasim Khan Suri have been attending chair-party meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan.”
Sources said the fate of both is expected to be decided in the meeting of heads of opposition parties to be held on Monday.
Opposition strongly opposes NA Speaker’s remarks
A day earlier, the United Opposition took strong objection to NA President Asad Qaiser’s remarks about the possibility of failure of a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan.
He had said that the speaker cannot make partisan statements and he showed a partisan attitude against the opposition.
Sherry Rahman, the PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate, had said that his act in itself disqualifies himself to preside over any such session, and by saying that the no-confidence motion was a foreign conspiracy, he was suggesting that the PTI government was only in place because of foreign support.
“Whether he is an office-bearer of the PTI or the president of the National Assembly of Pakistan, where he had to stay neutral and protect the integrity of the outcome,” he said.
Sherry said the no-confidence vote would be lost, Assad Qaiser betrayed his office, and “in my view, he cannot preside over the House or process”.
The senator had said that PTI was operating from a place of deranged paranoia, as he claimed the no-confidence motion was an international conspiracy against the prime minister and his party; The truth is that the government needs a reality check.
“Over the years, the constant contradiction of his own statement has become the prime minister’s international identity, now the current government is pushing the country towards a constitutional crisis and national security catastrophe,” she had said.
Sherry had said that the no-confidence motion seemed to have pushed the entire government to the edge of logic.
“The irony is that the government’s action after the no-confidence motion proves that PTI is completely incompetent and incapable of governing the country,” he said.
Former Speaker National Assembly and senior PMLN leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also criticized Asad Qaiser’s statement.
“By making a statement that the no-confidence motion will fail, and terming it as an international conspiracy, the speaker has become controversial,” he had said.
Sadiq had asked him to present some evidence before the nation to prove that the opposition’s motion against PM Imran was a world conspiracy. He had asked the NA speaker whether inflation, record foreign debt, economic devastation, unemployment, budget deficit were all foreign conspiracies.
“His statement is in clear contradiction to the constitutional and parliamentary requirements of the Speaker’s Office,” he said.
He said that if Assad Kaiser is so sure that the no-confidence motion will fail, he should immediately call an NA session.
Senior PPP leader Naveed Qamar had said, “The speaker’s apparent inclination towards the government is a matter of concern.” He had said that Asad Kaiser had made himself controversial by issuing such a statement.
“Important sessions of the National Assembly should be presided over in an impartial manner,” Qamar urged.