Rabbani for President’s impeachment, rejects proposal of political dialogue

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, while rejecting the proposal of President Dr Arif Alvi to facilitate the political dialogues, said the President should stop trying to create political space for himself as it is a sheer violation of the Constitution that could trigger impeachment against him.

“He is ‘not a honest broker,’ therefore, not acceptable to the stakeholders for initiating any political dialogue because of mala fide references sent by him against the judges of the superior judiciary,” Raza Rabbani said.

The Senator said under the Constitutional framework, the President has no such role nor would the Parliament allow him to abuse the Constitution. “He is the last person to talk on the appointment of the COAS, considering the fiasco, he and his government made the last time this appointment was made,” he opined.

He counted valid constitutional reasons for his impeachment, saying that if the government had required members, should impeach the President under the following seven reasons. He said the first reason for that he could be impeached for the circumventing the parliament by promulgation the ordinances. The second reason, he said the president could be impeached for sending references with mala fide intent against the judges of the superior judiciary.

The third reason for that he could be impeached for making legally flawed appointments on the advice of the prime minister, in autonomous and semi autonomous bodies, which were struck down by the courts. Senator Rabbani said the fourth reason of the impeachment would be for making appointment of a member from Balochistan to the NFC that was set aside by the Balochistan High Court.

The former chairman Senate said the fifth reason for the impeachment could be possible for removal of the Ombudsman that was set aside by the Islamabad High Court. The sixth reason could be that of acting on the advice of the prime minister suffering under a disqualification under Article-95 of the Constitution and dissolving the National Assembly.

Raza Rabbani said the seventh reason for the impeachment could be made on the grounds that the President acted like a political worker and under a false pretext failed to perform his Constitutional obligation to administer oath of the newly-elected prime minister.