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

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Monday maintained that all the leaders of coalition parties in the federal government had expressed their ‘no-confidence’ over the three-member Supreme Court (SC) bench hearing polls delay case, ARY News reported.

Addressing the National Assembly session, the prime minister endorsed the views of Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarrar regarding the expression of no confidence over the constitution of the bench seized of the matter.

PM Shehbaz claimed that Justice Ijazul Ahsan, another member of the bench, had recused himself from the bench. He requested Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to constitute a full court sans two judges as it would be acceptable to the nation.

Such a contentious decision, the premier said would be against the norms of justice.

Referring to CJP’s remarks that certain people speaking in the National Assembly had undergone jail terms, PM Shehbaz said that it was a matter of pride that he had been released by the high court on merit in the false and fabricated cases.

“[PTI Chairman] Imran Khan and his collaborators had framed false cases against his political opponents and tried to implicate me in those fabricated cases,” he added.

He said it was their rights under the constitution to express their views in the parliament and said if the CJP might have referred to the witch hunting of the opposition leaders during the PTI’s tenure.

The prime minister said there were serious allegations of corruption against certain members of the bench and by including them in the bench what message was given to the whole country.

The premier stressed that the law of equality was applicable to all, saying that double standards would not work.

The prime minister said Imran Niazi during his rule had no other engagement but to spend his energies on devising nefarious schemes to send opposition leaders to jails.

He mentioned that Imran had sent him twice to jails and was trying to send him for the third time. Even his bail which was granted on merit by the high court during PTI’s government was challenged in the Supreme Court, he added.

He said that he was released on merit and now standing in the parliament. “My fault was that as leader of the opposition, they were countering the ill-devised policies of the PTI’s government and Niazi considered them as hurdles and acted like ‘Nero plays flute when the Rome was on fire’.

Supreme Court hearing

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court (SC) reserved its 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.

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.