Same oath should apply to politicians, judges, generals: Vawda

ISLAMABAD: Senator Faisal Vawda has said that if an oath applies to legislators, it must also apply to all judges and generals in Pakistan. “It cannot be that someone outside this assembly gives us certificates of honesty and integrity. If our turbans are tossed, we will turn these turbans into a football game,” he said during his address in the Senate after taking the oath of office after becoming a senator.

The 337th session of the Senate was held under the chair of Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani, who administered the oath of Senate membership to Maulana Abdul Wasey and Faisal Vawda.

Senator Ishaq Dar presented a motion to suspend the question hour in the house, which was approved.

In his address, Senator Vawda addressed the assembly saying, ‘I was a part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for a long time, and the former PTI chairman (Imran Khan) taught him a lot about politics. “I wish he had listened to me at that time,” he said

He stated, “When I was expelled from the party for speaking the truth, the party was counting the stars, and the PTI chairman was aiming for the moon. However, I was ousted for speaking the truth, and I morally returned the seat to PTI, which no one could have taken from me.”

He continued, “I did not act like those who held press conferences against the PTI founder after the May 9 incidents to save their skin, and yet they continued to reap benefits while sitting in their chairs. I will not do such a thing in the future.”

Talking about the sanctity of oath as legislators, he declared, “We will legislate in this house. We create the laws that are passed by the National Assembly and the Senate, and we will ensure their implementation. We will interpret and summarize them. Someone outside this assembly can’t distribute us certificates of honesty and integrity. If our turbans are tossed, we will turn these turbans into a football game.”

Vawda remarked, ‘As members of the assembly, we approve things. When Bhutto was hanged, did we wait for 46 years to ask and find out why he was hanged and why there was no accountability for those who carried out the execution, those who mercilessly used the pen? Do we have an answer?’

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He questioned, “Zardari was kept in rigorous imprisonment for 14 years without any evidence, and then he was released after 14 years due to lack of proof. On what legal grounds was Nawaz Sharif disqualified? Then, when Imran Khan’s government was to be toppled, the offices of judges opened at midnight, and he was forced to take a vote of confidence. This was our job, but he was removed under duress.”

He asserted, “Until this system is fixed, Pakistan could not be set right.”

He concluded, ‘If an oath applies to me, it must also apply to all judges and generals in Pakistan. If it doesn’t, we will enforce it. We cannot move forward until our system changes.’

Earlier speaking on the floor, Opposition Leader in Senate Shibli Faraz said that eggplants, pumpkins and tomatoes (election symbols allotted to PTI-backed candidates during the general election) defeated the rival candidates.

He said that the PTI founder has been imprisoned for the last nine months in political cases, and his wife has also been detained in jail.

He mentioned that 99 per cent of PTI leaders and workers were imprisoned including Yasmin Rashid.

He expressed hope that the Senate chairman would issue the production order for PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.

He said that they (PTI) had dissolved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies according to the law, which was a political and constitutional decision.

“Elections were supposed to be held within 90 days under the constitution, but instead, a caretaker government was formed, which left no stone unturned in oppressing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers,” he said.

Shibli Faraz said that when the (PDM) federal government completed its term, elections were supposed to be held within 90 days, but a caretaker government was formed, which was not allowed in the constitution.

“Then, when the election was announced, our party’s electoral symbol was taken away, and our candidates were given ridiculous electoral symbols consisting of eggplants, pumpkins, and tomatoes but despite that their candidates defeated the rivals and the public showed who they stand with. Instead of resorting to violence to express their anger against the system, they (people) used their right to vote,” he said.

He said that “It is very sad today that our senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are not present in this assembly; the assembly is not complete. The assembly was not complete, but still, elections were held, violating the constitution,” he said.

Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani said that for the first time, he listened carefully to the entire speech of the opposition leader, who has raised very good points.

He said that no interruption occurred during the opposition leader’s speech, and now the opposition should not have any complaints that they were not heard.

In his address, Leader of the House Senator Ishaq Dar said, “I wish Shibli Faraz had said these things two or three years ago.”

He said that Shibli Faraz made very good points and read a good poem, but I wish he had said these things two or three years ago and Pakistan would not have seen this day.

He said that the caretaker prime minister fulfilled his constitutional duty. “Could he have conducted elections without a census? In the 2023-24 budget, Rs45 billion were allocated for elections, after which the caretaker government came into power,” he said.

He expressed regret that Senate elections did not take place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the question is why Senate elections did not happen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because the matter is wrangling between the court and the provincial government.

In his address, former caretaker prime minister and Senator Anwaarul Haq Kakar said that the extension of the caretaker government’s term was not a desire but a necessity.

He said that there was no doubt that the constitution allows 90 days to hold elections after the dissolution of the assembly, but there are also exceptions imposed by the constitution.

He said that the constitution stipulates that a census should be held every 10 years so that no part of society is deprived of its right to vote, and then constituencies are formed after this census.

He said that the extension of the caretaker government’s term was not our desire but our necessity, after which all institutions, including the Supreme Court of Pakistan, set the date of February 8, and we did not go beyond that by even an hour.