LAHORE – Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz on Tuesday filed a reference with the Election Commission Punjab to seek disqualification of the nine MPAs of the party who have recently joined the PML-N.

Accompanied by  Zulfiqar Gonda and the Deputy Parliamentary Leader, Shaukat Basra, Raja Riaz reached the Provincial Election Commission office and filed reference against Nishat Ahmed Daha, Syed Jamil Shah, Rana Babar Hussain, Uzma Bokhari, Abbas Zafar Hiraj, Rana Munawwar Hussain, Sardar Kamil Gujjar, Javed Alauddin, and Qaiser Sindhu.
Talking to the media after filing the reference, Raja Riaz said that the metioned members had betrayed the party after they took oath on Holy Quran to remain faithful to PPP through thick and thin. He said that the speaker Punjab Assembly had as yet not accepted resignation of the PPP defectors as such the Party was entitled under law to move the EC to seek their disqualification from contesting the elections.
While talking to The Nation, Gulfiqar Gondal endorsed that the reference had been filed against all the nine ‘turncoats MPAs’ of the PPP on the ground that they were dishonest and ghairameen in terms of Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution after they had turned their loyalties to the PML-N. He said at the time they were awarded ticket, the defector MPAs of the PPP took oath on the Holy Quran pledging that they would not leave the party and continue to stick to it under all circumstances and would not infringe the party discipline wherein compliance with the commands of the party leadership was pivotal. To a question on 18th Amendment in the constitution, re-election on the vacant seats of the said MPAs was out of question when 120 days were left to the general elections, Gondal said, it was not the question of reelection on the vacant seats but permanent disqualification of the said members as they had violated the Islamic injunctions by way of not abiding by the oath they took over the Holy Quran.