Qasim Khan Suri, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, dismissed the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday, saying it violated Article 5 of the Constitution.
Fawad Chaudhry, who took the floor shortly after the NA session began, said that every citizen’s basic duty under Article 5 was to be loyal to the state (1). He repeated the prime minister’s earlier claims that the move to depose the government was the result of a foreign conspiracy.
“We were told that the success of the no-confidence motion would determine our relations with Pakistan. If the motion fails, we were told, Pakistan’s path would be very difficult. “This is a foreign government-led operation to overthrow the government,” he claimed.
The minister questioned how this could be permitted and requested that the deputy speaker rule on the constitutionality of the no-confidence vote.
Suri pointed out that the motion was filed on March 8 and that it should be carried out in accordance with the law and the Constitution. “No foreign power shall be allowed to use a conspiracy to destabilise an elected government,” he said, adding that the minister’s points were “valid.”
The motion was dismissed by the Deputy NA speaker, who ruled that it was “incompatible” with the law, the Constitution, and the rules. The meeting was adjourned later.
What exactly does Article 5 say?
Pakistan’s constitution states in Article 5:Obedience to the Constitution and the law, as well as loyalty to the state.
(1) Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen.
(2) Obedience to the Constitution and law is the 10[inviolable] 10 obligation of every citizen wherever he may be and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan.
Later in the day, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said the PTI government had committed treason by refusing to vote on the no-trust motion, citing Article 6 of the Constitution.
Take a look at what Article 6 has to say:
The first paragraph of the article states:
“Any person who abrogates, subverts, suspends, or holds in abeyance the Constitution, or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subvert, suspend, or hold in abeyance the Constitution by force or show of force, or by any other unconstitutional means, shall be guilty of high treason.”
Anyone who aids, abets, or collaborates in the acts is also guilty of high treason, according to the second clause.
Clause 2A states that no court, including the Supreme Court and the High Court, can validate an act of high treason.
The final clause instructs Parliament to make provisions “for the punishment of those found guilty of high treason.”