Imran Khan may face high treason charge

The opposition has vowed to try Imran Khan under Article 6 of the Constitutions for high treason. The punishment is death. Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s action of dismissing Opposition’s motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan as against Article 5 of the Constitution needs to be examined in the light of Article 6 of the Constitution …. Writes Dr Sakariya Kareem

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan insisted to stay on the pitch till the last ball while there was no ball left. His craze for hitting the non-existent last ball made him look like a comic character who would give tuppence for any rule of the game.

As Prime Minster he tried to scuttle the Constitution of the country when he felt it posed a threat to his Prime ministership. The acts of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who dismissed the opposition’s no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister on April 3, and of President Arif Alvi, who, on the same day, dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of the Prime Minister ignoring the Constitutional Provision on this subject.

The opposition has vowed to try Imran Khan under Article 6 of the Constitutions for high treason. The punishment is death. Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s action of dismissing Opposition’s motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan as against Article 5 of the Constitution needs to be examined in the light of Article 6 of the Constitution.

Article 5 says (1) Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen. (2) Obedience to the Constitution and the law is the basic obligation of every citizen wherever he may be and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan. It is clear from these quotations that a citizen must be loyal to the State of Pakistan and be obedient to its Constitution and law. But it nowhere lays that the citizens should be loyal to the Prime Minister or a ruler.

While misquoting Article 5, Suri completely ignored Article 95 of the Constitution which provides for the vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister. It says: resolutions for a no-confidence moved by not less than twenty per cent of the total membership of the National Assembly may be passed against the Prime Minister by the National Assembly. If the resolution is passed the Prime Minister shall cease to hold office.

The Supreme court called Suri’s action as erroneous. The President in his oath “In the name of Allah the most Beneficent the most merciful” swears that I will persevere, protect and defend the Constitutions of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”. But when the time for his test came, he forgot both his oath and the Constitution and illegally dissolved the National Assembly – perhaps unaware that the Constitution had a provision for the dissolution of the National Assembly.

The President ignored Article 58 and in indecent haste dissolved the National Assembly on the Prime Minister’s advice when the common sense said that in the presence of the Supreme Court, the opposition’s no-confidence could not be considered non-existent after the Deputy Speaker’s flippant dismissal of it for undependable allegations. In other words, the opposition’s notice for a vote of no-confidence was very much there when the President dissolved the National Assembly.

The President and the Deputy Speaker like others, all swear in the name of Allah to defend the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Thus they committed two sins: one, against Allah by making the false oath in his name, and two, against the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and thereby against the state.

When Deputy Speaker Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion on April 3 Nawaz Sharif in London said he must be tried for high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution. This Article says “Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by unconstitutional means shall be guilty of treason.

Guilty also are those who aid and abet such actions. This means if there is a case under Article 6 of Constitution besides President Alvi, Deputy Speaker Suri and some others including Imran Khan by aiding their act with a fake letter of foreign support to the no-confidence motion.

For arrogant Imran there was no way out from the no-confidence motion which had the support of half of his party legislators. It is said 197 Members were for the motion. Imran said they had got sackful of currency notes from the opposition.