Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday plainly rejected the Ethics Committee formed by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to probe into allegations of harassment against lawmakers, fearing that it could be used to victimise political opponents in future.
In a letter addressed to NA Speaker, Shireen Mazari, PTI's chief Whip in National Assembly, said that the party has rejected the formation of a committee that would comprise parliamentarians, a majority of whom belongs to treasury benches - as a body involving political opponents has no credibility. "Political opponents cannot be accusers, judge and jury," reads the letter.
She reiterated that PTI stands by its commitment to a neutral inquiry into allegations of harassment levelled against party Chairman Imran Khan by estranged MNA Ayesha Gulalai, the party instead proposed the Parliament to appoint an independent parliamentary commissioner for standards office, as done by the British Parliament, the mother of all parliaments.
According to the letter, the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards deals with the application of the code of conduct and related rules that apply to the members of parliament.
PTI chairman Imran Khan on Monday also opposed the formation of the proposed Ethics Committee. Calling it an "illogical move", Khan had said that an independent panel should be formed to first ascertain whether or not such cases were genuine. "You should follow the UK parliament, where a parliamentary commissioner for standards is appointed as an independent person to judge cases like Gulalai's to see whether they are genuine or not," he said.
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