PESHAWAR: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has submitted its written reply to the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding the presidential reference for interpretation of article-63 of the constitution.
The SCBA has declared the vote of a Member of Parliament as an “individual right” under Article 95 of the constitution. The SCBA said, Under article 95 of the constitution, voting is not collective right of a party but an individual right of every member of National Assembly, thus no member of parliament can be prevented from voting according to his/her own choice.”
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The Supreme Court bar said that the people run the system of government through their elected representatives. Under Article 63A, MNAs cannot be barred from voting while under Article 95-A, every vote will be counted. The SCBA said that every member of the National Assembly is free to exercise his voting right and article 63A does not disqualify him from voting against his party’s policy.
The larger bench of the Supreme Court is currently hearing the presidential reference submitted for interpretation of Article 63A and the request of the Bar Council to stop the confrontation on the day of no-confidence motion.
Meanwhile, in response to the SCBA stance, Minister for Information Chaudhry Fawad Hussain termed the Supreme Court Bar Association as a “subsidiary” of PML-N. In a statement issued on Twitter, Fawad Chaudhry said, “the lawyers’ organisation should not become of tool of political parties and should maintain their independent status.” The Information Minister stated that this group has also been defeated in the Lahore Bar elections.