ISLAMABAD: PMLN Secretary Information Marriyum Aurangzeb says if Imran Khan is so confidence that he still has the numbers in the parliament, why was he doing everything he could to ban his party members from showing up for the no-confidence vote.
In a statement Marriyum said preventing members from coming to Parliament is unconstitutional. Inshallah, the members of parliament will come and will not vote for Imran and would live to see that day with his own eyes, because movement of any citizen cannot be restricted, she said. Exercising one’s vote is a constitutional right of every person. Article 15 of the Constitution does not bar the movement of any member of the National Assembly or any ordinary citizen, she explained.
The former Information Minister said, “A member of the National Assembly cannot be prevented from exercising his democratic rights. Under Article 17 of the Constitution, participation in political activities, use of the ballot is a fundamental constitutional right of a Member of the National Assembly. Majlis-e-Shura, Members of Parliament are assigned special responsibilities by the Constitution. These responsibilities include electing the Prime Minister, electing the Speaker and participating/voting in the no-confidence motion.
She said under the constitution, only the elected house has the power to remove them from office. The whole process in this regard is described in Article 95 of the Constitution. Stopping members of the National Assembly is depriving them of their basic constitutional rights and this ban on MNAs was a clear violation of their constitutional right to freedom of movement, she said.
The PMLN Secretary Information said restricting the movement of MNEs was a violation of their fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution and preventing MNEs from deciding who will be the next prime minister is a violation of the constitution. She maintained that the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister was carried out in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution. Anyone who uses force or illegal tactics to obstruct the procedure laid down in the constitution would be committing a violation of the constitution.
“Violation of the Constitution is an offense under Article 6 of the Constitution. False and baseless cases, intimidation, obstruction of access to the Assembly also fall into the category of violation of the Constitution. The perpetrators of these acts are punished by the constitution”, she stressed.
