The opposition parties decided on Wednesday to move a no-confidence motion jointly against National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser after two days of ruckus in the lower house of the parliament.
The development came during a meeting of opposition parties’ leaders, Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari where they decided to form a committee that would draft a plan of action to move the no-confidence motion.
They said that Tuesday’s proceedings in the NA marked the "darkest day for democracy in Pakistan's history," according to the sources.
"The speaker has failed to fulfil his constitutional, legal, democratic, and parliamentary responsibilities [...] he is the protector of every parliament member, but [he has failed in his duties] and is not qualified to hold office any more," the sources quoted the opposition leaders as saying this. In this regard, the joint opposition leaders also agreed to form a committee that would be tasked with tabling the motion. However, the names of its members are under deliberation.
They demanded that a parliamentary committee be established with equal representation — from treasury and Opposition benches — to probe the ruckus that had transpired in parliament. The joint opposition also rejected the NA speaker's decision to ban seven members of the Lower House who used foul language in Tuesday's session.
A day earlier, the lawmakers stooped too low as they used foul language and threw budget books at the opponents; creating scenes of a rumpus in the Lower House that made it like a fish market. It was the second consecutive day when the treasury benches tried to muzzle the voice of opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, who was to deliver his speech on the federal budget. The rumpus left at least one lawmaker and several sergeants at arms injured.