Daily Times

Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Justice Shahid Karim on Tuesday came down hard over the filling of irrelevant petitions in courts while hearing a plea seeking direction to concerned quarters to restrain the Punjab Assembly (PA) from dissolution.

However, the court dismissed the plea as withdrawn when Justice Karim remarked that “the petitioner will not be left with even a single penny to go back home if the plea is not withdrawn,” at which the petitioner’s counsel withdrew the petition. As the proceedings commenced, the petitioner’s counsel implored the court that the country’s prevailing economic crises does not allow for elections, and dissolving assemblies may create further crises. The counsel further implored the court that Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi had vowed not to dissolve the assembly and had said that it will complete its tenure.

Further, the petition stated that it would be unconstitutional for the assemblies to be dissolved merely on the direction of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan. In his response, Justice Karim said that the conditions under which the assemblies are being dissolved are very clear. He questioned how someone could be forbidden from exercising their constitutional right. Justice Karim commented that such petitions are a waste of the court’s time and questioned why they are filed.