ISLAMABAD – Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry FawadHussain on Thursday said verdict of the apex court on the PresidentialReference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution woulddetermine the country’s political future.
“Pakistan�s fate and political future are linked with this case,”Fawad said and hoped that the apex court would give a clear line tohalt the scourge of horse-trading once and for all.
Talking to the media persons outside the Supreme Court along withEnergy Minister Hammad Azhar, Fawad referring to the Sindh Houseepisode said, “it is imperative to put an end to the trade ofconsciousness and sale-purchase of the vote to ensure a transparentdemocratic system.”Fawad said the reference filed by the government under Article 186 ofthe Constitution was meant to get replies to those unansweredquestions, mainly related to the horse-trading.
He said the Attorney General for Pakistan’s stance, which he argued inthe court, was that an MNA’s vote belonged to his party and acollective one and he was not an ordinary voter. “When a person getselected as a legislator on a specific party ticket, his/her voteshould be considered as a collective one and on a party’s behalf,” headded.
�If there is no restriction on such vote then what was the purpose ofthe Article 63-A in the Constitution,� he questioned.Fawad said there was consensus that National Assembly Speaker AsadQaiser would decide whether the vote of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’sdissidents be counted or not.
�Our stance is that the disqualification should be for a lifetime andthese are the points on which the attorney general is arguing thecase� will take time, but this case will prove to be a base ofcountry’s future politics,� the minister remarked.Had the Election Commission of Pakistan taken action against thealleged horse-trading in the recent Senate elections, he said thehorse-trading would have come to an end.
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After the alleged horse-trading in the Senate, he said, the apex courthad directed the ECP to ensure traceability of the vote so that theaction could be taken against the vote-sellers.The ECP did notimplement the direction of the apex court which led toopposition-sponsored special markets which they established to buyloyalties, he added.
Fawad said the apex court�s decision on the reference would change thepolitical landscape in the country. It would be a �big step� if aparliamentarian was disqualified for a lifetime over horse-trading.
Addressing the dissident MNAs of PTI, he said if anybody hadreservations with the prime minister, he should resign first and thenreturn to the Parliament after contesting the election again.
He said the court was satisfied with the action taken by the IslamabadCapital Territory (ICT) Police in the aftermath of the public protestoutside the Sindh House and disposed off the matter. Public reactionwas natural but the dirty game played inside the Sindh House was yetto be answered.To a query, he said the PTI was the party of middle-class people whichwas complying the true democratic norms.
