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ISLAMABAD: Disqualifying lawmakers for life could clamp down horse-trading, a curse that the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan has termed as cancer, Attorney-General of Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan said in an interview.
After the government filed the presidential reference for the interpretation of Article 63A in the Supreme Court to deal with alleged horse-trading amid defections of ruling PTI members in large numbers and the party seemingly losing control, AGP Khan said that floor-crossing is not only illegal but also an immoral act.
“Penalty for crossing floor should not be one-time disqualification if Article 63A is read with Article 62,” he said, contending that those not fulfilling the Article 62 (1)(f) criterion stand disqualified for life as interpreted by the SC.
Therefore, a parliamentarian crossing floor should be considered to have lost the qualities stated in Article 62 (1)(f) if Article 63A is to be made effective, AGP Khan said.
As per the attorney general, the two questions — is Article 63A an isolated provision of the Constitution or is it part of the larger scheme that includes Article 62 (1)(f) — is the government’s case in the apex court.
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So far, the attorney general said, these two questions have not been interpreted in any case, adding that such an interpretation would not only be for the sitting government but also for the entire political process.
He said that if the conscience of a parliamentarian awakens, he should resign and seek reelection. Article 63A does not apply to the government’s allies, he concluded.
