The National Assembly will convene tomorrow and vote on no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker

The agenda of the meeting was released by the Secretariat of the National Assembly.   The National Assembly will vote on the no-confidence m...

The agenda of the meeting was released by the Secretariat of the National Assembly.

 

The National Assembly will vote on the no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker. File Photo: Facebook

According to the agenda of the National Assembly, the meeting of the National Assembly will be held on April 16 at 12 noon according to the previously announced time, which will be chaired by a panel of chairpersons Will

 

Read more: Notice issued to Federal and Deputy Speaker on delay in National Assembly session

A new speaker will also be elected during the meeting. However, only Raja Pervez Ashraf of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) submitted nomination papers for the post of Speaker National Assembly and thus he was elected unopposed.

 

Raja Pervez Ashraf will take oath as the Speaker of the National Assembly tomorrow.

According to the agenda, 159 members of the National Assembly will present a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. If the motion is passed, a resolution will be tabled to remove Qasim Suri from his post.

The no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly will be voted on by secret ballot.

The agenda of the National Assembly session also includes the election and swearing in of the Speaker of the National Assembly.

Read also: Election of Speaker: Qasim Suri changes the schedule of National Assembly session

It may be recalled that Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri had adjourned the National Assembly session on April 9 till April 16 but later changed the date of the session to April 22.

According to sources in the National Assembly Secretariat, the no-confidence vote against the Deputy Speaker is scheduled for April 16. Delay in the meeting would have violated the rules. Therefore, the no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker will be tabled on April 16. Accordingly, it will be held on April 16.

According to a circular issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker will be filed on April 16 after completion of 7 days as per sub-article 7 of Article 53 of the Constitution and Rule 12 of the National Assembly Rules.

It may be recalled that two days ago, acting Speaker Qasim Suri, using his special powers under the rules to delay the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly, had fixed April 22 instead of April 16 as the date of sitting of the Lower House of Parliament.

A statement issued by the National Assembly Secretariat said that the National Assembly, which was scheduled to convene on April 16 at 4 pm, will now convene on April 22 at 3 pm. The schedule has been changed under the National Assembly Rules 2007.

Earlier, in the schedule issued by the National Assembly Secretariat for the election of the Speaker, the deadline for submission of nomination papers was April 15 at 12 noon.

Read more: National Assembly adjourns till Sunday without discussion on no-confidence motion

The speaker's seat in the National Assembly has been vacant since Asad Qaiser resigned on April 9 from PML-N chief Ayaz Sadiq before assuming the responsibility of electing the prime minister as per the Supreme Court decision.

On the other hand, the Islamabad High Court issued notices to the federation, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and Secretary National Assembly on the request of PML-N leader Murtaza Javed Abbasi against the late convening of the National Assembly session of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. Postponed until April 22.

Murtaza Javed Abbasi has named Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, Secretary Parliamentary Affairs and Secretary National Assembly as parties in his petition filed in the Islamabad High Court.

The text of the petition states that the April 13 circular in which the meeting was adjourned till April 22 is unconstitutional.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice said that the rules say that the Speaker of the National Assembly should be elected as soon as possible, what difference would it make to convene a meeting in a few days.

He questioned that the sanctity of Parliament should be maintained, why this court should interfere in the internal affairs of the National Assembly, the internal proceedings of the National Assembly and the date has been fixed.

 

Read also: The crucial session of the National Assembly adjourned without a motion of no confidence

The Chief Justice said that the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly cannot preside over the session on the day of no-confidence motion against him. Besides, there is no restriction on the Deputy Speaker in the Rules. ۔

The Chief Justice said that the petitioner did not have any valid reason in this petition and there was no reason before this court to declare the action of the Deputy Speaker as malicious.

Later, the Islamabad High Court issued notices to the federation, deputy speaker and secretary of the National Assembly seeking a reply by April 22.