Opposition to move no-confidence motion ‘at appropriate time’: Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz senior vice president and former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, on Tuesday, said that opposition had the option of submitting mass resignations from the legislatures and moving a no-confidence motion but those options would be used at an appropriate time.

Talking to reporters after appearing before Accountability Court in LNG case against him and others, he said Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the PML-N wanted to change the country’s system. “The country where the system was not run according to the constitution then against whom can one move a no-confidence motion,” he said.

He said “what was done in the joint session of the Parliament was in front of everyone, members were forcefully called to attend the joint session of the Parliament.”

The country would not progress until that interference did not end in the constitutional system, he said. To a question about his case, he said that following promulgation of the National Accountability amendment ordinance there was no need to filling of acquittal applications and it had to be decided by the court that whether the law was applicable in that case or not.

To a query about the chairman NAB’s selection process, he said that a summary had been sent to the president who did not have the time for signing a summary but had the time to sign agreement of his son’s dentistry business.

The PML-N leader said that main objective of the third NAB ordinance was to give NRO to itself. According to the third amendment, it will apply over any decision taken after October 6.

Responding to a question about former president Asif Ali Zardari’s statement, he said that “we are not afraid of any challenge put forth by Zardari as they will have to face the same result like they did in NA-133. About moving against the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in the court, he said “it was the job of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) but we can move against the EVM at any time but we were observing that what measures the ECP is taking in this regard.”

Earlier, Abbasi and other accused appeared before Accountability Court-II Judge Muhammad Azam Khan in the LNG case and were allowed to leave after marking their attendance. During the hearing, a co-accused, Aamir Naseem, who was in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), was produced before the court.

The accused has become emotional in the court and said he had undergone three heart surgeries. Naseem’s counsel said he filed an application before the court seeking exemption from personal appearance before it, which the court approved.

The court has adjourned hearing of the case without any proceedings due to absence of the NAB prosecutor till December 14.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021