DISQUALIFICATION CLAUSE What does Article 63A Say? UMM E RUQQIA The events that happened in 2022, the motion of no confidence and the chief minister elections, have led to a fierce debate among lawmakers about Article 63-A. Article 63-A is initially about disabling a lawmaker on the grounds of defection. The defection would be done if, he votes against the directions of party policy or he abstains from voting. The question here arises why there was a want for an anti-defection clause in the constitution. What was the purpose of this amendment? Did floor-crossing and defection stop after this amendment? Are the directions to vote issued by the parliamentary party or the party chief of the political party to which he belongs? In its initial version, the 1973 constitution lacked an anti-defection clause. By inserting Article 63-A, the 14th amendment, by the second Nawaz Sharif era in 1997, added anti-defection measures to the constitution. "To avert instability in connection to the...