ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to move a reference against four National Assembly members (MNAs) who defected to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after being elected with PTI’s support. PTI leader Asad Qaiser confirmed that the party had finalized plans to take action against these lawmakers for deviating from party policy during the voting on the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The reference will be submitted to both the National Assembly speaker and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The four PTI-backed independent members—Usman Ali, Aurangzeb Khichi, Mubarak Zeb, and Zahoor Qureshi—had voted in favor of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which played a key role in securing the government’s majority during the vote.
The 26th Amendment introduced significant changes to Pakistan’s judicial system, including provisions for judicial appointments, the tenure of the chief justice, and the composition of the judicial commission.
Qaiser expressed that these members, who had originally won their seats on PTI tickets, now joining the PML-N represented a betrayal. “Those who voted [in favor of the bill] have committed treachery against the party and its founder, Imran Khan,” he stated.