Justice Athar Minallah says PTI MNAs' resignations escalated political crisis

ISLAMABAD: Justice Athar Minallah said in his detailed dissenting note on Punjab and KP election sou motu that PTI MNAs’ resignations escalated a political crisis in Pakistan, ARY News reported on Friday.

As per details, Justice Athar Minallah issued a 25-page detailed dissenting note in the supreme court sou motu on Punjab and KP elections case.

The detailed dissenting note stated when the sou motu proceedings started, the court became involved in the political crisis and the political stakeholders opposed it when the Supreme Court decided to hear the plea. Such objections can affect the people’s trust in the judiciary.

Justice Athar Minallah said all the judges have taken an oath to protect the Constitution. On February 23 he suggested constituting a full court which was for the trust of the people.

Justice Athar Minallah said that in matters which involve the interests of the political parties, utmost caution must be exercised so as not to prejudice of impartiality of the Court, particularly when jurisdiction is invoked

The note added that the political crisis escalated when PTI members decided to resign from the National Assembly and then later dissolved Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The case of Punjab KP elections was under proceeding in the high court but a sou motu was taken. There is no reason to doubt the ability and competence of the High Court.

SC verdict

The electoral watchdog’s decision about the delay in holding polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was nullified by the Supreme Court.

A three-member bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — announced the reserved verdict on the PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order postponing the elections in Punjab and KP

The Supreme Court declared the ECP’s order postponing the provincial assembly elections until October 8 as “unconstitutional” and ordered the government to release Rs21 billion funds for elections in Punjab by April 10.