Those Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers who did not support the party in rejecting an anti-Nawaz Sharif bill in the National Assembly on Tuesday should face strict disciplinary action, said Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.
“Out of those, a few did inform reasons for their absence. However, those who didn’t must face disciplinary action by the party…it’s better to get rid of those opted not to back the party cause,” he added.
He was speaking during an informal interaction with reporters in Islamabad on Wednesday
The outspoken minister said a few party MNAs did not appear in the lower house of parliament for the all-important vote.
It is pertinent to mention here that on Tuesday, the PML-N government had managed to block the opposition’s move in the National Assembly to prevent a disqualified person from heading a political party, paving the way for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to continue calling the shots in the ruling party.
The bill, which had been passed by the Senate, sought that a person who is not eligible to be elected as a member of parliament on account of being disqualified by a court of law should be barred from becoming office-bearer of any political party.
PML-N garnered the support of 163 MNAs against the ‘Election (Amendment) Act 2017’. Around 98 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill
The bill was presented in the house by Pakistan People’s Party’s Naveed Qamar.
The government and its allies have a total of 220 MNAs—188 from PML-N, 13 from the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and three from the Pashtunkhwa Mili Awami Party (PkMAP).
Both treasury and opposition benches chanted slogans in favour and against the former premier Sharif during voting on the bill.
