The opposition parties in the National Assembly disrupted the proceedings on Tuesday after deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri rejected their demand of re-voting on a bill pertaining to the quota of judges in Islamabad High Court. The opposition parties' members protested strongly against the deputy speaker's decision and accused him of rigging in a headcount over a bill moved by Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MNA Aliya Kamran.
Kamran moved a bill in the House seeking an increase in the number of judges of the Islamabad High Court from six to 10, and a quota accommodating all the provinces on the IHC benches. She said there should be a law to appoint specific number of judges from each province. She suggested the government to add a clause in the law to have at least two judges from each province in the Islamabad High Court.
Parliamentary Secretary for Law Maleeka Bokhari opposed the bill, saying that setting a specific quota for each province will violate essence of the merit. She also said a similar bill was already under discussion in Standing Committee on Law and Justice. The deputy speaker held a verbal vote and subsequently rejected the bill after it appeared to have been voted against.
Kamran then challenged the vote and the deputy speaker ordered a headcount. The headcount revealed that 96 lawmakers opposed the bill, while 94 were in favour of it. Therefore, the speaker decided against the move. This infuriated members of the opposition parties and they gathered in front of the deputy speaker's dais, accusing him of rigging in the headcount.
The opposition members urged the speaker to hold another vote on the bill, but he rejected the demand and suspended proceedings of the House. The deputy speaker returned to the House after an hour to announce adjournment of the session.
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