Rejection of Majeed Malik's papers for Nazim slot surprises National Assembly

The rejection of the nomination papers of a retired general, Majeed Malik, boomeranged on Tuesday, as members on both sides of the aisle were taken aback on the decision in the Lower House.
The Opposition lawmakers with the support of some treasury members ridiculed the move, and asked the government to clear up the whole mess of making matriculation certificate of a retired army general 'suspicious.'
The district returning officer (DRO) on Monday rejected the nomination papers of Lieutenant General Abdul Majeed Malik (Retd) for the Chakwal District Nazim seat, saying his (Majeed) matriculation certificate was fake.
The rift between Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Senior Vice President Abdul Majeed Malik is widening, especially after the rejection of Malik's nomination papers.
Ghulam Murtaza Satti from the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) grabbed the opportunity to speak first on the issue and questioned the decision of rejection of Malik's nomination papers for the District Nazim slot.
He ridiculed that the government has declared the matriculation certificate of a retired army general fake and demanded of the government to justify the announcement.
However, NA Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain switched off his mike and did not allow him to speak further. But the government faced great embarrassment when a treasury member, Sardar Tufail Ahmed, also grilled it over the issue.
He received great applause not only from the opposition benches, but also some treasury members who supported his remarks.
In his fiery speech, Sardar Tufail said the announcement has not only shocked the entire nation, but the lawmakers were also very perturbed over it.
He demanded of the government to explain why the nomination papers of a retired general were rejected and his matriculation certificate declared fake.
Sardar Tufail was of the view that the returning officer, who declared his certificate fake, must be held accountable.
But Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi said the matter was sub-judice, and cannot be discussed in the House, irking Sardar Tufail and opposition members. Niazi said Abdul Majeed Malik has every right to go to higher courts.
Some other opposition lawmakers, including Liaqat Baloch and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed also wanted to speak, but were not allowed by the chair.
Earlier, the combined opposition also staged a token walkout from the Lower House against Speaker's refusal to entertain its adjournment motions against pre-poll rigging in third phase of local bodies elections. The Speaker reserved his ruling on the admissibility of their adjournment motions regarding use of state apparatus in third phase of local bodies polls and filing of false cases against opposition lawmakers like Hanif Abbasi, Rana Mehmood-ul-Hasan and Raja Asad.
Speaking on the admissibility of the motions, Liaqat Baloch, Aitzaz Ahsan, Khawaja Saad Rafique and other members accused the government of manipulating the election results by using state machinery.
They said fake cases were being filed against members of the National Assembly and their workers were being harassed to change loyalties.
They also questioned the authority of the Election Commission for conducting free and fair elections, saying the institution was not playing its due role.
On the other hand, Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Federal Law Minister Wasi Zafar and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan denied their claims.
Another victim to alleged rigging in the local bodies polls, Qamar-uz-Zaman Qaira, also narrated his ordeal. He, in his brief speech, continuously requested Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to pay him some attention but was totally ignored.
He said his whole family was being politically victimised by Chaudhries of Gujrat, and added the government, despite firm assurances from the Prime Minister and the interior minister, has not taken any step. Earlier in the day, the NA Speaker referred three privilege motions of opposition lawmakers to the concerned committee. However, a privilege motion submitted by treasury member, M.P Bhandara, was rejected by the chair.
Bhandara, in his privilege motion, said some federal ministers were residing in Minister's Enclave but have also occupied apartments in the Parliament Lodges, adding some members despite residing in the Parliament Lodges are drawing house rent from the government, which was a (blatant) corruption.
As it was private members day on Tuesday, there were 105 items on the order of the day, but only 15 were taken up by the chair.
NA Speaker Amir Hussain hurriedly finished the whole legislative business, ignoring some important treasury members' bills.
These included the bill to amend the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Ordinance, 1979, the bill to amend the Foreigners Act, 1946, the bill to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the bill to control the rapidly increasing disease of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan and a bill to further amend the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001.