ISLAMABAD: The coalition parties on Saturday expressed their “lack of confidence” in three-member bench of Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan hearing a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petition against the delay in elections of the Punjab Assembly, ARY News reported.
The decision was taken during a high-level meeting of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties, chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the “overall political situation of the country”, according to a statement issued by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The coalition parties expressed lack of confidence in the Supreme Court bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar.
The meeting was summoned after the Supreme Court rejected the ruling alliance’s plea for a full court bench in the election delay case. The apex court itself witnessed high drama, with two judges recusing themselves from the remaining three-member bench.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail withdrew from the bench a day after Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan rescued himself from hearing the case.
During the meeting, matters relating to the country’s overall situation, the alliance’s future strategy and other issues were discussed in the meeting.
According to the statement, the meeting of PDM parties demanded that elections should be held in the country at the same time.
“Holding transparent and impartial elections is a fundamental constitutional requirement and deviation from it will push the country into political crisis,” read the declaration.
The meeting fully supported the recent legislation of the Parliament and stated that the obstacles in the way of justice have been removed by this bill. The meeting urged all stakeholders to respect the parliament’s supremacy.
The meeting fully supported the recent legislation of the Parliament and stated that the obstacles in the way of justice have been removed by this bill. The meeting urged all stakeholders to respect the parliament’s supremacy.
Last month, the Senate passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which aimed to clip powers of office of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notice.
The bill was moved by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar in the Senate. The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure), Bill 2023 was adopted by a majority vote of 60-19.
The bill
Under the new legislation, the decision for suo motu notice will be taken by three senior judges of the Supreme Court (SC).
Moreover, the bill also includes a clause regarding the right to appeal against the decision, which could be filed within 30 days and fixed for a hearing in two weeks.
It added that the party will be allowed to change its lawyer in a suo motu case. Under Article 184, the matter will be presented before a judges committee. The committee will review the case and later form a five-member committee for any kind of constitutional interpretation.
The act will be taken into effect on all verdict of the high courts and the Supreme Court (SC).
Postponement of elections
Earlier in March, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced to delay of the Punjab by-elections which were scheduled to be held on April 30.
The ECP withdrew the Punjab Election Program notification issued on March 8 and decided to postpone the Punjab election and announced October 08 as the new date for elections in Punjab.
Read More: ECP announces date for KP elections
The ECP spokesman said that the president Dr Arif Alvi also been informed about the postponement of elections in Punjab, adding that the new election schedule will release soon.
