File photo courtesy PID
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday said the incumbent government has commenced work on filing Article 6 references against leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf who have been specifically cited by the Supreme Court as having misused their authority in attempts to block the no-confidence vote that led to Imran Khan’s ouster.
Earlier this week, the apex court issued its detailed judgment in a suo motu case on former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri’s dismissal of a no-confidence motion against then-premier Imran Khan. The ruling noted there was insufficient evidence to prove the PTI’s claims of a foreign conspiracy, stressing that Suri’s actions had been illegal. In an additional note, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel specifically named President Arif Alvi, then-P.M. Khan, ex-speaker Asad Qaiser, ex-deputy speaker Suri, and former law minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain as misusing their authority.
“Whether these acts attract Article 6 of the Constitution (high treason) is also left open to be determined by the parliamentarians to ponder whether they should leave open the doors to such unconstitutional acts or take suitable measures to stop such a mess in future,” read the note.
Addressing media, Sanaullah said preliminary work on the references had begun. “Only the federal government has the authority to file cases under Articles 5 and 6,” he said, adding that the “historic” verdict had established the rule of law and the rule of the people.
Emphasizing that the apex court had used the words “blatant violation” in its judgment, he claimed this had paved the way for the “political demise” of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. “Imran Khan violated the Constitution for his benefit … in line with the order, the president, then-prime minister, and then-deputy speaker violated the Constitution,” he said, adding that even if the government did not pursue the treason case, it could still punish the offenders through Parliament.
“The NA speaker will be advised to approach the Election Commission and seek the disqualification of the offenders,” he said, adding they were all still technically MNAs as they had not confirmed their resignations to the speaker.
The minister said he would also seek the federal cabinet’s permission to arrest the PTI chairman, adding that he was “ready” to apprehend Khan immediately.