ISLAMABAD
\nThe opposition leaders on Friday lambasted National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for, what they called, violating the law and the Constitution and warned the government of severe consequences if it again played foul on the coming Monday.
\nAddressing the media outside Parliament after abrupt adjournment of the National Assembly (NA) session till March 28 [Monday next], Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif regretted the law had been trampled underfoot that day. \u201cThe Speaker was bound to convene the NA session on the no-confidence motion within 14 days,\u201d he stated.
\n\u201cWhat difficulty was there? The Speaker could have convened the NA meeting before March 21,\u201d he emphasised and accused the Speaker of violating Article 6 of the Constitution.
\n\u201cLaw and the Constitution are above traditions. The traditions have their own place, but, the Speaker should have conducted voting for no-confidence motion,\u201d Shehbaz stated. He also blamed the Speaker for playing a heinous role, adding that eyes of the entire nation were at the Parliament.
\n\u201cThe Speaker has reconvened the NA meeting on March 28 [Monday]. We will take every legal action if he again commits any unconstitutional act,\u201d he warned. \u201cThere will be \u2018Dama Dam Mast Qalandar\u2019 if the Speaker again tries to play foul in the NA session,\u201d he added. The PML-N president said the name of the speaker would be written in black words in the annals of history. He rued that he was not allowed to speak on the floor of the house by the speaker.
\nPakistan People\u2019s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Speaker had become a \u2018facilitator\u2019 of Imran Khan.
\n\u201cThey [the government] looked frightened when the opposition submitted the no-confidence motion to the Parliament,\u201d he claimed and added that the government attempted to spread terror by orchestrating attack on the Sindh House.
\n\u201cWe will not allow Imran Khan to run away,\u201d Bilawal alleged and stated that all the opposition parties in Pakistan were united. \u201cThe fugitive prime minister has lost majority in the Parliament,\u201d said the PPP chairman and added that the coward prime minister would not be allowed to flee.
\n\u201cThe next prime minister will be elected,\u201d Bilawal noted and vowed that the opposition would fight the undemocratic forces through democracy.
\nJamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) leader Maulana Asad Mehmood said that the role of the Speaker was like that of a personal servant of the prime minister.
\n\u201cWhat the Speaker said was not the talk of the custodian of the House but that of Imran Khan\u2019s personal servant,\u201d Asad censured and added that the Speaker was seeking votes for the prime minister.
\n\u201cThe Speaker is holding meetings with the government\u2019s allies as part of his party delegations,\u201d Asad alleged and added that the role of the Speaker in the history of Pakistan would be written in black words.
\nHe also blamed the government for perpetrating state terrorism against the parliamentarians, adding: \u201cWe will show our full strength inside and outside the Parliament.\u201d
\nBalochistan National Party (BNP) chairman Sardar Akhtar Mengal said that the government had been in confusion since the submission of the no-confidence motion.
\n\u201cThe assembly is run in the light of the Constitution,\u201d Mengal pointed out and added if the government had majority in the Parliament, it would not have resorted to mean tactics.
\n\u201cThe government has not spared anything that does not violate the Constitution,\u201d maintained Sardar Akhtar Mengal.
\nAwami National Party (ANP) leader Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said that the Speaker violated the Constitution by not convening the NA meeting within 14 days after submission of the no-confidence motion to the Parliament.
\n\u201cAsad Qaiser appears to be the chief whip of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) instead of the Speaker,\u201d he deplored and added that the government needed to prove majority in the Parliament, not in the public meeting.
\nNational Democratic Movement chairman Mohsin Dawar said that the Speaker cared about traditions, not the Constitution. \u201cHow long will they [the government] be able to retain their power?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The opposition leaders on Friday lambasted National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for, what they called, violating the law and the Constitution and warned the government of severe consequences if it again played foul on the coming Monday. Addressing the media outside Parliament after abrupt adjournment of the National Assembly (NA) session till March 28 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[69],"class_list":{"0":"post-251277","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-shehbaz"},"yoast_head":"\n