Daily Times

The allied parties of the coalition government have expressed their lack of confidence in a three-member Supreme Court bench led by the chief justice hearing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition against postponement of elections in Punjab.

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.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, PML-N chief organizer Maryam Nawaz, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui participated in the meeting.

According to sources, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif also reportedly attended the huddle via video link.