Article 5 of the Constitution of Pakistan has been discussed a lot after the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan’s government was rejected. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan has rejected the no-confidence motion under Article 5. Article 5 of the Constitution of Pakistan, written in 1973, talks about loyalty to the princely state and compliance with the Constitution-Law.
The first provision of Article 5 states that it is the fundamental duty of every person of Pakistan to be loyal to his State. The second provision says ‘It is the responsibility of every person to comply with the Constitution and the law. Whether he is permanently residing in Pakistan or has come with asylum for some time.
During the meeting in the National Assembly there, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry surrounded the opposition citing Article 5 against the no-confidence motion of the opposition. Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected the motion and adjourned the session sine die. Now the debate has started regarding Article 5 of the Pakistani Constitution. Questions have been raised about its provisions. Pakistan’s legal expert Sarup Ejaz said prima facie the move was against the Constitution and democratic norms.
Pakistan’s opposition party has called the deputy speaker’s move unconstitutional. The opposition says that whoever prevented the vote on the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, they have committed the crime of treason. The opposition has filed a petition against it in the Supreme Court. The title of the editorial published in the Pakistani newspaper ‘The Dan’ has been kept ‘Destruction of Democracy’.
“The actions of the Prime Minister of Pakistan have trampled on the parliamentary process and plunged the country into a constitutional crisis,” it said. Law expert Jibran Naseer said in a conversation with this newspaper that if democratic processes are tampered with in this democratic country, then the existence of Imran’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will be in danger.
According to Rima Umar, legal advisor to the Advocates for Justice and Human Rights (ICJ) in South Asia, there is no if-but-scope. The Deputy Speaker’s decision is completely unconstitutional. Imran currently has no authority to recommend the dissolution of Parliament to the President.
Pakistani jurist Salman Akram Raja told a TV channel that the only way for the opposition was to reach the Supreme Court and get the Constitution to be implemented through the court against this unconstitutional decision. However, he also said that under Article 69 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the Supreme Court cannot interfere in any decision of the National Assembly or the Senate.
Abdul Moiz Jafri said that Article 69 limits the powers of the court to interfere in parliamentary matters, but if any unconstitutional act is being done in the House itself, then it is the responsibility of the court to ensure that the Constitution is followed. He said that the court can change the decision of the Deputy Speaker in this matter. Especially when your actions are taken with malicious intent.