Chaudhary Nisar taking oath as a member of the Punjab assembly after three years remained the talk of the town but Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took the edge and blocked it.
On Monday, the ex-interior minister reached the Punjab assembly to swear in as a member but Nisar’s path was certainly blocked by PTI.
The assembly secretariat said that the petitions filed against former PML-N member halted the procedure.
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The elected lawmaker had to wait for an hour in the speaker’s chamber but to no avail and he left without any change in political status.
Talking to the media outside Punjab assembly, the ex-minister said that he had informed the related authorities about the oath a week earlier. However, the legal formality was still not carried out, he complained.
He said that the chairman of the panel could also take oath from him in the absence of speaker or deputy speaker.
He announced to return to the assembly in two days later after consulting his legal team.
The ex-minister also cast doubts on the results of national and provincial seats in his constituency in general elections 2018.
He wondered how the people could not vote him on the national seat but made him victorious on the provincial seat.
Assembly Secretariat
Punjab assembly secretariat issued a clarification after the oath-saga on Monday.
It said that five petitions, including three in Rawalpindi’s courts and two in Lahore High Court (LHC), were filed for Nisar’s disqualification.
The secretariat has also sought time to check if there were any stay orders against MPA-elect. The officials said that they did not want to commit contempt of court.
Meanwhile, News360 found out that the panel of chairman administered oath under similar conditions last year.
Last year, the Panel of Chairman Mian Muhammad Shafiq took oath from PTI MPA Sania Kamran on June 12.
Former lawmakers believe move was deliberate
While talking to News360, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat said that the activity was halted to look into the legal matters.
Former MPA Khalil Tahir Sandhu, who is also a legal expert, spoke with News360 on the burning issue. He told the assembly rules were silent on the matter.
However, as a lawyer, he believes that the problem is pertaining to the assembly chair and the panel of chairman could run the proceeding and take oath from an elected member.
He added that petitions against lawmakers could not halt the procedure.
Sandhu contended that cases against several ministers were also under adjudication in different courts but it does not affect their assembly membership.
The ex-minister Khawaja Imran Nazir expressed that Chaudhry Nisar was a senior politician who understood assembly rules well.
He said even any petition filed against the ex-minister could not bar him from swearing-in as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued notification regarding his victory.
Nazir said that swearing oath was legal and constitutional right of Nisar, adding that PTI blocking it showed how confused it was.
The assembly session will resume on May 26.