ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) senior leader Asad Qaiser said on Monday that the PTI-backed independent candidates, who supported the contentious constitutional amendment, betrayed the party and its founder, Imran Khan.
The government clinched 225 votes of the required 224 with the crucial support of a handful of independent MNAs, including those backed by the PTI.
Zahoor Qureshi, Aurangzeb Khichi, Usman Ali, and Mubarak Zeb were the PTI-backed independent MNAs who voted in the tweak’s favour, while Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)’s Chaudhry Ilyas also supported the legislation.
Under the judicial reforms passed during a late-night session of parliament, the chief justice of Pakistan will now be selected by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years. A new constitutional bench will also be formed.
“Those who voted [in favour of the bill] have committed treachery against the party and its founder,” said Qaiser during a media talk.
Emphasising that the votes cast were not in line with the party policy, Qaiser, a former speaker of the lower house, stated: “These were not their votes, they were votes for the founder of PTI.”
