ISLAMABAD – The federal government on Monday filed a reference in theSupreme Court, seeking the interpretations of Article 63A amidno-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The development comes days after more than two dozen PTI MNAs openly foundstaying at Sindh House in a clear message that they would vote againsttheir party in the upcoming no-trust move.
The Article 63-A of the Constitution talks about the disqualification of alawmaker on the grounds of defection.
Earlier in the day, President Arif Alvi has approved to file a reference inthe top court for interpretation of the Article.
A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandialand Justice Munib Akhtar, would take up the matter along with a plea filedby the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) seeking intervention of theapex court to prevent “anarchy” in the country ahead of the no-trust vote.
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In the reference, the president has quoted two interpretations of Article63-A and sought its opinion about which of them should be followed by thegovernment.
According to the first interpretation, “khiyanat (dishonesty) by way ofdefections warrants no pre-emptive action save de-seating the member as perthe prescribed procedure with no further restriction or curbs from seekingelection afresh.”
