Pak SC strikes down deputy speaker's decision; restores assembly, orders vote on no-trust motion
Islamabad, Apr 7: In a body blow to Imran Khan, Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down a controversial ruling by the deputy speaker on the rejection of a no-confidence motion against him and ordered restoration of the National Assembly, saying the prime minister's move to dissolve Parliament and call early elections was "unconstitutional"
In a landmark verdict, a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial ruled that the deputy speaker's ruling was "contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect, and the same are hereby set aside."
"The deputy speaker gave a ruling on April 3. Leave was granted on the no-confidence motion on March 28. The ruling of the speaker is declared unconstitutional," Justice Bandial said.
The court declared the advice by Prime Minister Khan to President Arif Alvi to dissolve the national assembly as unconstitutional."
The bench comprising Justices Ijazul Ahsan, Mohammad Ali Mazhar Miankhel, Munib Akhtar and Jamal Khan Mandokhel also restored Prime Minister Khan, Federal Ministers, Ministers of State, Advisers, etc to their respective offices as on April 3.
The court ordered the speaker of the lower house to call the session of the national assembly on April 9 at 10 am (local time) to organise a no-confidence vote. It ordered the election of the new prime minister if the no-confidence motion succeeded.
The opposition parties need 172 members in the 342-member house to orchestrate the downfall of Prime Minister Khan and already they showed the support of more than the needed strength.
Ahead of the ruling, security in and around the apex court was beefed up. Riot police was deployed outside the court building.
Deputy Speaker Suri, who is associated with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, on April 3 dismissed the no-confidence motion against the premier claiming that it was linked with a "foreign conspiracy" to topple the government and hence was not maintainable. Minutes later, President Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Khan who had effectively lost the majority.
The court, which had taken suo motu action hours after Suri's move, had reserved the judgment at the conclusion of the case in the afternoon after five-day consecutive hearing.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif said the court had "definitely fulfilled the people's expectations".
"The court has strengthened its prestige and independence through this verdict. The court also strengthened the parliament and its honour," he said.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the Supreme Court's verdict was a "victory for democracy and the Constitution".
"Pakistan's institutions and its Constitution have been safeguarded. God willing, the process of no confidence will now be completed and we will conduct electoral reforms and head towards clean and transparent elections," he said.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), welcomed the court's decision, calling it a victory of justice and constitution. "Tomorrow will be observed as thank-giving day," he said.
Reacting to the verdict, Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry expressed his regret and disappointment, terming the verdict "unfortunate".
"This unfortunate decision has exacerbated the political crisis in Pakistan. Immediate elections could have brought stability to the country. Unfortunately, the importance of the people has been overlooked. Let's see how things go now," he tweeted.
Earlier, the chief justice during the hearing said that the April 3 ruling was erroneous. "The real question at hand is what happens next," he said.
He also asked PML-N counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan and the Attorney General Khaled Javed Khan for guidance on how to proceed. "We have to look at national interest," he said.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Bandial noted deputy speaker's ruling is, prima facie, a violation of Article 95.
Various lawyers appeared in the court to plead in the complex case. Naeem Bokhari represented deputy speaker Suri, Imtiaz Siddiqui appeared for Prime Minister Khan, Ali Zafar represented President Alvi and Attorney General Khaled Javed Khan represented the government.
Babar Awan appeared on behalf of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Raza Rabbani for Pakistan Peoples Party and Makhdoom Ali Khan for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
Apart from leading lawyers representing various parties, the court also called at the rostrum Shehbaz Sharif and asked about his view on the way forward in the wake of uncertainty due to dissolution of assembly and announcement of fresh elections.
Shehbaz said how the opposition leaders can take part in the election after being labelled as "traitors". He left it to the court to decide but urged that rule of law should be adhered to and added that we cannot face even our families after being called as traitors .
He was referring to the ruling by the deputy speaker that the no-confidence motion was linked with a so-called "foreign conspiracy".
The court also heard PPP chairman Bilawal who asked the bench that the opposition would bring necessary reform in the electoral laws before going for elections.
During the hearing, the chief justice repeatedly reminded the lawyers to conclude their arguments at the earliest to let the bench issue an order.
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Misuse of power, money to control election mechanism seen during Maharashtra polls: Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed the misuse of power and money to control the entire election mechanism, which was never before seen in any state assembly or national polls, was witnessed in Maharashtra.
Pawar made the statement when he visited senior activist Dr Baba Adhav, who is protesting against the alleged "misuse of EVMs" in the recent state polls in Maharashtra.
Adhav, who is in his 90s, began his three-day protest at Phule Wada, the residence of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, in the city on Thursday.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), have been alleging manipulation of EVMs in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, which saw a landslide victory by the Mahayuti.
The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, while the MVA managed just 46 seats.Talking to reporters, Pawar said elections were conducted recently in the country, and there is a restlessness among the people about these.
Baba Adhav's agitation represents this restlessness, he said.
He said, "There is a murmur among the people that the recent polls in Maharashtra saw 'misuse of power' and 'floods of money', which was never seen in the past. Such things are heard of in local-level polls, but taking over the entire election mechanism with the help of money and misuse of power was not seen before. However, we witnessed it in Maharashtra, and people are restless now."
He added that people were recalling late socialist ideologue Jaiprakash Narayan and felt somebody should take a step forward.
"I heard Baba Adhav has taken a lead into this issue and is agitating at Phule Wada. His protest gives hope to the people, but it is not enough. A mass revolt is necessary, as the danger of the parliamentary democracy getting destroyed looms," Pawar said.
The former Union minister said those who have reins of the country in their hands are least bothered about this.
"Despite widespread discussion over it (alleged misuse of EVMs) in the country, whenever the opposition tries to raise the issue in the Parliament, they are not allowed to speak. Opposition leaders have been seeking an opportunity to speak on these issues for six days, but their demands have not been accepted even once. It shows they want to attack parliamentary democracy," he claimed.
He said Dr Adhav's protest is a fine example of someone revolting against the issue and expressed confidence that his protest will create a ripple effect.
