ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary general Asad Umar on Monday demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to fulfil its constitutional duty by disqualifying some 20 defecting party MNAs who violated the party discipline in wake of the no-confidence motion against the then prime minister Imran Khan.

Speaking at a presser here, he said that the PTI – the largest political party of the country – has expressed no confidence on the ECP especially on the chief election commissioner (CEC) for his controversial verdicts against the PTI.

Given the situation, he said that “we demand an impartial and unbiased chief election commissioner as the incumbent chief has failed to do justice with the prestigious office of the chief election commissioner”.

Referring to a suo motu notice taken by the Supreme Court of Pakistan against a ruling by National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri, rejecting a no-confidence motion against the then prime minister Imran Khan, Umar said: “We thought the courts have started taking suo motu notices even on Sundays which might be a step towards ensuring speedy justice, but the delay in deciding the case against 20 PTI turncoats speaks otherwise”.

He questioned how a political party managed to garner 186 votes in the provincial assembly of Punjab, and demanded the ECP to fulfil its constitutional duty by disqualify all the turncoats who voted against party policy in the Punjab provincial assembly.

The PTI leader said that all the PTI MNAs have tendered their resignations on the floor of the house, and there is no need to go to the ECP, adding the PTI does not accept the legitimacy of the incumbent National Assembly and it is simply out of question to accept anybody assuming the role of an opposition leader.

Speaking on the occasion, Ali Awan, a former MNA, said that PTI senator Faisal Vawda was disqualified by the top electoral body while in a similar case, the son of Yousaf Raza Gilani of the PPP was given a clean chit which shows the double standards of the ECP.

He said that the PTI will take to the streets against the chief election commissioner and the protests will continue all over the country unless, the CEC, Sikander Sultan Raja, steps down, as he has spoiled the image of the commission through his controversial verdicts.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022