Defect at your peril

July 16, 2022

This letter refers to the article ‘Constitution-makers or interpreters’ (July 14, 2022) by Aasiya Riaz. The article criticizes the judgment of the Supreme Court on the interpretation of Article 63A and its effect on the CM Punjab elections. Unfortunately, our parliamentarians and executive have failed to perform their basic functions and have to refer every minor dispute to the Supreme Court. How can any house accept the results of a disorderly election?

It was a landmark decision by the SC to disallow the votes of defectors. The members elected to any house are nominated by the party head, therefore, the seat belongs to the party and not the individual. In fact, the moment any member of assemblies through a public meeting, press conference or by any other means disassociates from his party, the ECP, based on his or her statement, should immediately declare their seat vacant.

Mukhtar Ahmed

Karachi