Ali Zafar said that President Alvi can insist Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif show his majority in the National Assembly.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-May 19th, 2022) PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar said that the president can ask the prime minister to obtain a vote of confidence in the National Assembly.
Ali Zafar said that President Alvi can insist Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif show his majority in the National Assembly. He expressed these views while talking to a local tv channel on Thursday.
Zafar said, “Yes, the president can ask the prime minister to do so,”.
He said, “There is only a difference of two votes [in favour of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif]. Both these votes are from the PML-Q [Pakistan Muslim League-Q],".
The Senator said that PML-Q’s Salik Hussain and Tariq Bashir Cheema both are Federal ministers in the current government.
His reaction came after the Supreme Court ruled that if a lawmaker crossed party lines, during voting in the lower house, then his or her vote would be discarded.
Zafar said that Salik Hussain and Tariq Bashir Cheema would have to follow directions issued by their party leader.
He said that if these two members were given directions [by PML-Q’s leadership] that during the vote of confidence they have to vote in a certain way then the [present] government can be removed,”.
The PTI leader said that it was now clear after the court's verdict that you cannot vote against party lines.
The last time a prime minister obtained a vote of confidence was in March last year, by then prime minister Imran Khan, who received 178 votes in the 342-member National Assembly.
On whether this judgement will apply to the election for chief minister in Punjab, the PTI senator said it will apply to the past, present and future events as well.
“This proposal was accepted back then and Article 68 was added to the Constitution,” the PTI leader said.
“The Supreme Court has also interpreted it as such, that if the majority [members] of a party leave then the vote will be counted,".
