Daily Times

According to PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, it would be resolved why the Supreme Court’s March 1 decision was amended from a 4-3 to a 3-2 in favor of the elections before ruling on the elections to two provincial assemblies.

Maryam made these remarks on the same day that the Supreme Court was deliberating a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petition challenging the electoral commission’s decision to postpone voting in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (KP).

In a tweet after the court adjourned the hearing, Maryam Nawaz said before deciding on the election, it will be decided why the March 1 verdict that told the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold elections in Punjab in 90 days, was changed from a 4-3 to 3-2 in favor of the polls.

“What were the motives behind it and who was involved?”

Her remarks came a day after two Supreme Court justices, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, released a 27-page ruling in which they stated that the suo motu case relating the Punjab and K-P elections date announcement was dismissed by a majority of four judges out of seven.

The two judges aimed to “revisit the power of the one-man show enjoyed by the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan” in order to “strengthen” the institution and “ensure public trust and confidence” in the apex court.

Referring to the dissenting note of the apex court judges, Maryam further said that no decision by the apex court would by accepted forcefully before clearing the ambiguity surrounding the apex court’s March 1 verdict on Punjab and K-P polls.

On Monday, Maryam hailed the order of two judges of the apex court who questioned the unbridled powers of the top judge of the country on constituting benches, among other things, saying it was a “victory” of PML-N’s narrative about “bench fixing”.

The Sharif family scion was referring to Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail’s order through which they not only raised objections on the unfettered powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) on taking suo moto notice but also expressed that making benches by the CJP alone to hear cases was nothing but a “one-man show”.

“Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Mandokhail’s decision today is a victory for our narrative about bench fixing,” the PML-N leader said while presiding over a meeting of party’s spokespersons, asking “if the bench-making is not fair, how the decision can be considered fair”.