PPP to lose right to authority if resolution fails
16 January, 2012
ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), on the back of support by its coalition partners, is poised to easily get through a pro-democracy resolution in the National Assembly, holding its session today (Monday). However, if it fails to get it passed from the House, it would lose its moral authority to stay in the office, as believed by political and legal experts. They noted that in view of numerical strength of the PPP and its coalition partners in the Lower House of the Parliament, there is remote possibility of any setback that the government might face in the voting. But in case of any failure to get the resolution passed from the House, a new crisis might be triggered in the country for the government, with a big question mark on its stay in the office. The opinions solicited by our sources didn't suggest that in case the government fails to get the resolution passed would be tantamount to a no-confidence move because the constitutional requirements for a vote of no-confidence are quite different, as merely the defeat of resolutions could not erode the constitutional authority of the sitting government. The much-hyped pro-democracy resolution is all set to come for debate as the National Assembly Secretariat also carried it on the agenda of the session on Sunday, when it issued the order of the day for the next session with the resolution prominently figuring on it. During the last session, the resolution was not part of the order of the day and was later made the part of it when, through a move to suspend the regular agenda of the House, ANP President Asfand Yar Wali moved the resolution in the assembly. Apart from the ANP, the mover of resolution, believed to be on behalf of PPP, the Muttahid Qaumi Movement (MQM) also threw its weight behind this resolution along with the PML-Q that is also on board so far to pass it from the House to protect democracy and democratic institutions in the country. Observers believe the move by MQM is to counter the threats to the government from some other state institutions in the backdrop of recent confrontation over a number of issues. However, PML-Q Senator SM Zafar calls the resolution a "practice in futility", saying that there was no justification on part of the government and its allies to move such a resolution in the assembly. The wording of the resolution, the veteran parliamentarian noted, was not that the government wanted to say. Pointing out to another aspect, Zafar said that if the government wanted to protect democracy through this resolution, what would it do if the resolution met a failure. "When constitution itself protects democracy then its beyond comprehension what is its utility?" the PML-Q Senator asked. Chief of Pakistan People's Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) Aftab Khan Sherpao said that in real sense, it would not be a lack of confidence of parliament on the government, "if the resolution is defeated". However the moral strength it (the government) required would vanish in such a case, he said. PML-N Senator Syed Zafar Alai Shah expressing similar views said that vote of no confidence had different parameters, and failure to pass the resolution was something quite different. "However, in such a case, the government would face embarrassment," he said. End.
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