Daily Times

The PDM-led ruling coalition Saturday announced to boycott the ongoing Supreme Court (SC) proceeding on the election delay case.

The decision to boycott the hearing came after the top court rejected the ruling alliance’s plea for a full court bench in the election delay case. A meeting of the coalition government and senior political leaders expressed “no confidence” in the three-member Supreme Court bench hearing the postponement of polls in Punjab. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting of leaders of the coalition government to consider the overall situation and “devise a future strategy for the government” amid the country’s judicial crisis on top of long-ongoing economic and political crises. According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), PM Shehbaz addressed the meeting via video link from Lahore. “The meeting expressed no confidence in the three-member bench headed by the chief justice, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar and demands that the present court proceedings be terminated by accepting the four-judge majority judgment of the suo motu no. 1/2023,” the press release reads. “The sad fact is that the chief justice of the Supreme Court wants to impose the decision of the minority on the decision of the majority. This conduct is not only a serious constitutional and political crisis in the country but also a clear example of deviation from the Constitution and prevailing legal procedures, which is also a clear violation of the basic concept of the division of powers of the state.”

The PMO press release further said that the meeting “made it clear that Justice Ijazul Ahsan had already left the bench voluntarily in this case so he cannot be a part of the current bench. The orders of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail in this regard are clear, all this is also on record.

“The meeting demanded the chief justice to listen to the dissenting voices raised in the benches of the Supreme Court as the head of the institution and immediately hold a full court meeting so the impression of the ‘one-man show’ is done away with.”

The PMO press release added that the “division” in the Supreme Court’s thinking was “evident”. “Therefore, the Supreme Court should refrain from issuing controversial political decisions.”

The meeting’s participants demanded “an end to the impression regarding the chief justice and some other judges that they are adopting a special discriminatory attitude in the matters of the PTI.”

It also said that “those who instruct the politicians to sit together and take [collective] decisions are themselves divided. They should create unity and agreement within themselves.”

The meeting also took note of Justices Qazi Faez Isa and Aminuddin Khan’s detailed order on Wednesday which called for postponing all hearings based on suo motu notices and cases of constitutional significance – under Article 184(3) – until they were legislated upon.

“Conflicting court decisions have created an unworkable and complicated situation. Everyone must also respect the decision of Justice Qazi Faiz Isa’s bench,” the press release stated.

It further said that references filed under Article 209 by the Pakistan Bar Council and other bar associations against a sitting apex court judge should be processed.

The meeting’s participants, as per the press release, also said that the Supreme Court’s verdict last year on a presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution was a “cause of political instability through which the Constitution was rewritten.”

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar briefed the meeting about the recent legislation regarding Article 184(3) curbing the powers of the chief justice to take suo motu. He also told the meeting’s members about the “situation arising from the issuance of different judgments and benches between honourable judges in the Supreme Court”.

“The meeting fully supported the recent legislation of the parliament and said that the obstacles in the way of justice have been removed by this legislation. While ending the one-sided approach of justice to the people, they have been given the right to justice, which is the basic purpose of natural justice and the constitution.

“Parliament has clarified its opinion regarding Article 184(3) through legislation. Parliament is a supreme institution whose opinion should be respected by all. The meeting hoped that the president of the state will not obstruct the way of this legislation based on party affiliation,” the press release reads, referring to President Dr Arif Alvi’s assent to the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 after it was passed by the Senate.

On the topic of elections, the meeting’s participants demanded that they be held across the country on the same day and date, adding that this was the “basic constitutional requirement of conducting impartial, transparent and free elections, the deviation from which will plunge the country into a disastrous political crisis”.

The moot agreed that such a situation would be “tantamount to a suicide attack on the country’s economic interests”.

“The meeting made it clear that the conspiracy to create a permanent political and constitutional crisis in the entire country under the pressure of a party attacking state institutions with troops and mobs will not be accepted under any circumstances.

“Unfortunately, an administrative issue has been turned into a political and constitutional crisis. Neglecting economic, security, constitutional, legal and political issues is equivalent to indifference to state interests.

“The special purpose and urgency of giving relief to a party (PTI) appear to be a political agenda. It is also against the Constitution and law and the authority of the Election Commission,” the press release reads.

It added that under Article 218(3) of the Constitution, among other constitutional provisions, the ECP had the power to conduct elections and the apex court “should not interfere” in this regard.

“The same decision has been given by four honourable judges of the Supreme Court in no.1/2023,” the press release stated. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar also briefed the meeting on the economic situation of the country.

The meeting was attended by PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam and various other federal ministers and allied political leaders of the government.