Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Monday challenged the Election Bill 2017, which allows even a disqualified person to head a political party, in the Sindh High Court. Both the political parties in their petition requested the court to declare the bill as illegal and unconstitutional.

They submitted in their petition that the Election Bill 2017 was in violation of the constitutional provisions and aimed at re-electing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as head of his party despite his lifelong disqualification by the Supreme Court in Panama Papers case. Earlier on Sept 22, the Senate had passed the Election Bill 2017 with a majority vote, doing away with a clause which barred a person from serving as an office-bearer of a political party if he is either not qualified to be, or disqualified from being elected as a member of a parliament under Article 63 of the constitution.

Leader of the Opposition in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan had proposed an amendment to the bill, retaining the above-mentioned clause, but it was rejected with a majority vote – 39 against 38.

The opposition parties, whose combined strength is more than that of treasury benches, had failed to pre-empt the bill without the amendment.

Taking great exception to their not participating in the voting process, PTI had earlier issued show-cause notices to its senators Nauman Wazir and Kenneth Williams to explain as to why they stayed away from the voting process.

Whereas, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) had terminated membership of a senator for voting against the party discipline. Senator Ateeq Shaikh had voted in favour of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Published in Daily Times, October 3^rd 2017.