LAHORE: Supporters of PTI celebrate the election tribunal’s decision here on Saturday.—Online

ISLAMABAD: Ayaz Sadiq may manage to get a stay order from the Supreme Court, but the decision of the Lahore election tribunal against him has definitely made him a ‘controversial figure’.

Political and legal experts believe that it will be difficult for Mr Sadiq to maintain the prestige and sanctity of the office of National Assembly speaker till the completion of the court’s proceedings and he could face tough times in the legislature.

“You can hide a small stain on coloured clothes, but it becomes visible even from a distance if it is on white clothes,” remarked Kamran Murtaza, a former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, when contacted for his comments on the future of the speaker after the tribunal’s decision in favour of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

He said the tribunal’s decision would not have had much impact had Mr Sadiq been a simple member of the assembly, “but since he is the custodian of the house it will have a great impact”.

In response to a question, Mr Murtaza said there seemed to be no legal or constitutional bar on Mr Sadiq to continue to perform his duties as speaker, provided he got a stay from the Supreme Court — the only forum available for challenging the tribunal’s decision.

PTI’s Asad Umar told Dawn that Mr Sadiq had a legal right to file an appeal before the apex court and seek a stay on the implementation of the tribunal’s decision, but he had lost “moral grounds” to occupy the speaker’s seat.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah said he did not see any political crisis in the near future after the election tribunal’s decision.

He said the speaker had a right to appeal in the apex court and political parties should wait till the outcome of the court’s proceedings. He, however, admitted that the election tribunal’s decision was a blow for the PML-N and it had rejuvenated the PTI which suffered a political setback after the judicial commission rejected its charges of rigging in the 2013 general elections.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2015

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