Joint sitting of Parliament endorses governor’s rule

ISLAMABAD
A joint sitting of the Parliament on Thursday gave its approval of the Centre’s imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid a strong protest from the opposition. The joint session of the Parliament had been summoned to discuss separate resolutions on the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in KP, where the opposition’s PTI was in power.
During the session, which was addressed by both members of the treasury and opposition benches, the government justified its decision while the PTI lambasted the Centre and the allegations levelled against the party.
The Centre took the measures on Oct 11, citing the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism. The move followed weeks of political tensions between the Centre and the PTI — as well as negotiations to bridge their differences — after the latter announced a long march to Islamabad to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.
During Thursday’s joint sitting, opposition members turned up carrying placards inscribed with slogans, such as “emergency na manzoor (emergency is unacceptable)”. PM Shehbaz, who attended part of the session, shook hands with opposition leaders of both the Senate and the NA, pictures and footage showed.
At the outset of the proceedings, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry presented a motion under Rule 232 of the Parliament (Joint Sitting) Rules 1973 to suspend certain sub-rules so he could move the resolutions.
As loud noes echoed and opposition members chanted “emergency na manzoor”, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq again put the motion to a vote by asking the members to stand up, which was then adopted with 214-56 votes.
Subsequently, Chaudhry moved two resolutions before the joint sitting — one for the Proclamation of Emergency under Article 232 and the second for the proclamation of governor’s rule under Article 234.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar then opened the discussion on the two resolutions. After the hours-long debate, the two resolutions were put to a vote and adopted Law minister opens debate Opening the discussion, the law minister noted that a resolution regarding the imposition of emergency was also required to be passed by a joint sitting. He said members of the treasury benches were ready to reply to any query raised by the opposition. Tarar highlighted that the PTI-led government in KP, which now stands non-functional, was advised time and again to tackle terrorism. He again lamented that PTI leaders did not attend any funeral of martyrs who lost their lives in terrorist attacks.
Tarar went on to stress that governor’s rule was imposed under Article 234, which allows the move if any provincial government was being run against the Constitution. Explaining the constitutional process to approve the resolution for emergency, he said the joint sitting could reject it by a total majority, ie 51 per cent. Similarly, the resolution for governor’s rule also required a total majority of votes for approval. The joint sitting took place a day after both Houses of Parliament, in separate sittings, passed resolutions endorsing the imposition of emergency in KP. According to Article 232, if the “president acts on his own, the Proclamation of Emergency shall be placed” before both Houses of the Parliament for approval by each House within 10 days.
Meanwhile, a proclamation for governor’s rule issued under Article 234 “shall be laid before a joint sitting and shall cease to be in force at the expiration of two months”, unless a joint sitting approves its extension. However, such a measure shall not remain in force for more than six months.