ARD meeting to finalise strategy in a week, no-confidence move against National Assembly speaker

The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) will meet within a week to finalise its strategy vis-à-vis tabling of a no-confidence motion against National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain.
Sources in the ARD told Business Recorder here on Friday that the alliance had already enjoyed support of other small opposition groups and was in contact with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on the issue.
All opposition parties had voted against the speaker during the no-confidence move against him last year. The charge sheet to be framed against the speaker will be almost the same.
"Though the ARD leaders have held informal meetings and telephonic discussions, they are yet to formally meet to discuss the no-confidence move," the sources said.
However, these sources said that the most important item on the agenda would be to review the post-Shaukat Aziz elevation as prime minister scene and the speaker's refusal to issue production orders of jailed ARD leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.
Hashmi was a joint candidate of all the opposition parties in the National Assembly. The opposition had boycotted the ascertainment process last week after the speaker refused to produce Hashmi in the House.
Chaudhry Amir refused to produce Hashmi despite the fact that his nomination papers were accepted and he was acknowledged as a legitimate prime ministerial candidate.
When approached, ARD Parliamentary Group Secretary Izhar Amrohvi told Business Recorder that the upcoming meeting would be very important in the backdrop of election of new premier, non-production of Hashmi in the House and above all the speaker's attitude towards the opposition.
To a question, he said that different options could be looked into to put pressure on the government to send the speaker home, against whom, he claimed, even the ruling coalition had been raising their voice in the House and in their private meetings.
He said that the opposition leaders could launch anti-speaker campaign in and outside the Parliament. "We can arrange corner meetings and demonstrations on the matter," he said.
Amrohvi replied in the affirmative when asked was it a possibility that unlike the previous move against the speaker, this time the situation could be ominous for him.
"You see besides opposition parties, some of the MNAs from the ruling coalition can also vote against the speaker as in the no-confidence move, balloting is done secretly," he said.
The ARD secretary said that the opposition was faced with a tricky situation regarding its conduct in the Parliament after Shaukat Aziz assumed as prime minister.
He said the speaker could be overthrown if minimum 172 out of the 342-member House vote against him.