Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Although National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq defended his ruling on references sent to the election commission for the disqualification of PTI chairman Imran Khan, he nevertheless refused to chair the session during the speech of PTI chairman Imran Khan on Thursday.

Sources told daily times that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Railways Minister Saad Rafique and opposition leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah advised the speaker not to preside during the PTI chief’s speech to avoid any controversy. The speaker acted upon on their advice.

Ayaz Sadiq had been informed that the PTI chief may raise the question of partiality during his address so he should not sit in as the Speaker. In his speech, Imran Khan refused to accept Ayaz Sadiq as Speaker. Member of the panel Pervez Malik chaired the proceedings of the house as Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi was not available either.

On the other hand, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq defended his ruling and said in a statement after Imran Khan’s speech that his rulings over the references submitted by the treasury and opposition members were issued in light of the Constitution and Rules & Regulations after thorough examination and careful analysis of the documents. He said that he didn’t make decisions to create equilibrium by forwarding two references from each side to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP); he wanted his decisions to be based on merit instead. He added that it’s not his office but the ECP was the forum to decide the fate of these documents within 90 days. Moreover, he said, an independent judiciary is also present in this regard.