ISLAMABAD – The federal cabinet has approved constitution of a special committee to make recommendations on initiating treason proceedings against former prime minister Imran Khan and other leaders of his party, PTI, in light of a verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Khan, who was ousted through a no-confidence vote in April, has been claimed that a foreign conspiracy was hatched by the United States to topple his government. However, Washington has denied the allegation.
Former Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri had attempted to block the no-trust vote citing the foreign conspiracy against the then premier.
Earlier this week, the top court issued detailed judgment in the suo-moto case regarding former Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri’s ruling on 3rd April.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked that Qasim Suri prima facie breached his constitutional duty by dismissing the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan.
The top judge remarked that the April 3 ruling failed to qualify for the protection of the internal proceedings of parliament under Article 69(1) as it was not the outcome of a vote in the National Assembly instead, it was a unilateral decision.
The 111-page judgment reads that the deputy speaker rejected the resolution without any probe and the constitution did not provide any protection to such moves. It added that the cipher was not shown to the court but some portion of the document was presented.
Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel of the apex court in his additional note stated that the sacred trust of exercise of authority was violated by President Arif Alvi, Imran Khan, and other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders.
He also urged the parliament to initiate action under Article 6 of the constitution, seeking the charge of high treason against PTI chief, President Alvi, former speaker of the assembly Asad Qaisar, former deputy speaker Qasim Suri and former law minister Fawad Chaudhry.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the committee will be headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and comprising ministers for Information and Interior along with representatives of all coalition partners. It will present its recommendations to the cabinet in its next meeting.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said the cabinet members unanimously approved a resolution which welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict over Qasim Suri’s “unconstitutional” ruling.
She said the detailed decision of the Supreme Court, based on the supremacy of the Constitution, is commendable as it has buried the ‘doctrine of necessity’.
Resolution submitted in Senate seeking impeachment of President Arif Alvi
