Pakistan thrown into dark abyss of constitutional crisis: Dawn
Whatever happened in the National Assembly (NA) of Pakistan on Sunday violated all rules of governing proceedings and the ruling party burnt down the country's democratic order, wrote Pakistan-based English newspaper Dawn in an editorial published on Monday.
It said that the nation was stunned and no one could have guessed what had transpired yesterday (3 April), a contrast from what the political pundits and media confidently predicted – an unperturbed defeat of Imran Khan in the no-confidence motion.
With the parliamentary process pulverised on the orders of a leader who continues to hold it in deep contempt, Pakistan has been thrown into the dark abyss of a constitutional crisis, wrote Dawn adding that Imran had planned to play this "dastardly card all along."
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"It came as a rude shock: it takes quite the fall for a self-proclaimed 'fighter' to display such unsportsmanlike behaviour. By tearing up the rules of the game instead of 'playing till the last ball', Mr Khan has dealt a fatal blow to constitutionalism and given rise to the strongest concerns yet that he may not be suited to hold public office within a democratic order.
"It was obviously staged: it was clear as the NA convened that the opposition had the numbers to oust the PM. Before the motion could be put to vote, however, the newly appointed law minister rose to record an 'objection' on the basis of Article 5 of the
Constitution, which quite benignly states that "loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen," reads the Dawn editorial.
The leading Pakistani English wrote that the deputy speaker – who had to chair the proceedings as the opposition had moved a motion of no-confidence against the speaker as well – accommodated the objection with indecent "haste."
"Without a shred of proof that the motion had anything to do with the loyalty to the state of any of its movers, the deputy speaker dismissed the motion on the grounds that it had contradicted Article 5.
"So tightly did he stick to a written script that he did not even bother replacing the speaker's name with his own as he issued the order to prorogue the session," it added.
Imran Khan – even before the nation could process this shock – who had been conveniently absent from the session – was on national television in a pre-planned broadcast congratulating Pakistan on the "failure" of the motion of no-confidence.
He also revealed that he had already written to the president to dissolve the NA so that fresh polls could be held.
Dawn slammed the Pakistan president for failing "to act with wisdom" and said that instead of looking into the constitutionality of the entire process, Arif Alvi acted as an Imran Khan loyalist and sullied his office with his partisan decision.
The Pakistani daily wrote that Khan could have played the "political game like a true sportsperson" and still could have stayed in power.
"Instead, he [Imran Khan] chose to thrust the country into a constitutional crisis," it said adding that the matter now stands for the Pakistan Supreme Court to resolve.
The newspaper hoped that the country's Supreme Court will provide an adequate remedy for the "wrong that transpired and remind all parties that there is only one path to holding any legitimate power, and it will always lie through the Pakistan Constitution and anything else is unacceptable.
