Law minister Tarar disappointed at Supreme Court verdict
Pakistan
Azam Tarar said Pakistan could not afford constitutional and political crisis
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar has said he can only express his sorrow over the Supreme Court decision on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf petition against delay in holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Addressing a press conference outside the Supreme Court here on Tuesday, he said Pakistan could not afford constitutional and political crisis.
He repeated the government claim that an apex court bench had rejected the suo motu notice by a margin of four to three despite Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial ruling against the notion in the verdict announced today. He once again prayed the chief justice to constitute a 13-member bench to hear the recent important matters pertaining to the law and constitution.
The minister said dignity and writ of the Supreme Court demanded such a course which would also serve the interests of the nation.
Pointing towards the division within the apex court, the law minister said being head of the institution, it's the responsibility of the honourable chief justice to do away with it. He said there should not be confrontation between the institutions.
Responding to a question, he said the apex court's decision regarding the provincial government elections would be discussed in the cabinet meeting being held today and parliament.
He said that the decision has added political and legal crises to the existing security and economic issues.
The law minister questioned why senior judges were being kept away from sensitive judicial matters. He stressed the Chief Justice for a full court session to resolve the issues.
He urged the Chief Justice to keep the institution [Supreme Court] united. "It is the need of the hour that the apex court act impartially to uphold the supremacy of the law," he added.
He said that yesterday the attorney general suggested formation of a bench comprising six judges who did not hear the PTI petition. The prime minister, while speaking on the floor of the house yesterday also called it division of the apex court.
“It is the duty of the head of the court to end division,” he added.
Minister Azam said that the Supreme Court rejected all the pleas of the government. The coalition government was not satisfied with the Supreme Court's affairs.
Rana Sanaullah
Before the Supreme Court annulled the Election Commission of Pakistan's March 22 decision to postpone elections in Punjab, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah threatened that the government had the option of imposing emergency in the country.
Stressing the need for forming a full court, he said if everybody was demanding [formation of a full bench], the CJP should accept it.
About the option of clamping emergency, Sanaullah said if every important case would be heard by the same three judges, there arose justification to “take the constitutional step.”
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had also talked about the imposition of emergency or martial law in the country.
