PM Shehbaz summons ‘emergency’ meeting of federal cabinet tonight

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has summoned an ‘emergency’ meeting of federal cabinet on Monday night amid deepening political and judicial crisis in the country, ARY News reported, citing sources.

Sources told ARY News that PM Shehbaz will chair a special ‘emergency’ meeting, wherein important decisions are likely to be taken.

The meeting was summoned as the Supreme Court has reserved the verdict  in the case about delay in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) polls after hearing arguments from Election Commission, PTI and Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan.

Ahead of the hearing, the government submitted a statement through Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, requesting the formation of a full court to hear the case which was ruled out by the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial.

Read More: PM Shehbaz reiterates ‘no-confidence’ in CJP-led bench hearing polls delay case

The PDM government also sought the dismissal of the PTI petition in the light of what it interpreted as a “4-3” order issued by the apex court on March 1.

Notably, the Supreme Court also did not hear the arguments of lawyers representing the political parties that are part of the ruling coalition.

SC high drama

It is pertinent to mention here that 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 apex court 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.

Last month, the Senate passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which aimed to clip powers of office of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notice.

The bill was moved by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar in the Senate. The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure), Bill 2023 was adopted by a majority vote of 60-19.

The bill

Under the new legislation, the decision for suo motu notice will be taken by three senior judges of the Supreme Court (SC).

Moreover, the bill also includes a clause regarding the right to appeal against the decision, which could be filed within 30 days and fixed for a hearing in two weeks.

It added that the party will be allowed to change its lawyer in a suo motu case. Under Article 184, the matter will be presented before a judges committee. The committee will review the case and later form a five-member committee for any kind of constitutional interpretation.

The act will be taken into effect on all verdict of the high courts and the Supreme Court (SC).