Supreme Court to safeguard constitution on elections' plea come what may: CJP Bandial
Pakistan
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court hears the case after PTI-government talks
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said on Friday the apex court would proceed in line with the constitution and would not sit idle on the May 14 election issue if the dialogue between the government and the PTI failed.
The Supreme Court resumed the hearing on the plea regarding holding of general elections for the National Assembly and provincial assemblies in one go after the coalition government and main opposition party PTI sat together for three days and tried to talk out the issue. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar began hearing at 11:30am.
The PTI submitted a report in court, claiming that no resolution had been reached and requested that the court enforce its April 4 order regarding elections in Punjab.
-- Friday's hearing --
At the outset of the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan came to the rostrum and said the government had submitted its response to the talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He said PPP lawyer Farooq H. Naek would brief the court on the negotiations.
Mr Naek informed the court that the federal government had filed a combined petition regarding the date of the Punjab elections. He said Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani played the role of a facilitator during the negotiations. He said there were five rounds of negotiations between the PTI and the ruling alliance.
“The coalition parties informed the PTI about the current economic situation in the country and the ongoing negotiations with the IMF,” Mr Naek said. He added that the PTI also agreed to the dire economic situation. He said more time was needed for negotiations.
The CJP asked why the IMF agreement had been emphasised in the government's response. “The issue in court is constitutional, not political,” he remarked. He said the court "leaves the political matter to the political parties".
Mr Naek said the IMF loan was “necessary for the budget.” He contended that if the assemblies were dissolved, the budget would not be approved. “If the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies had not been dissolved, this crisis would not have occurred,” he said. He said the situation was also wasting court's time.
The chief justice asked whether the IMF loan would be part of the government’s fund reserves or be used in the repayment of debts. He said no one could deny that the Constitution mandates elections be held within 90 days of the assembly’s dissolution. The PPP lawyer agreed and added that there were no two opinions on the issue.
-- PTI-govt dialogue --
The PTI-government talks were aimed at developing a consensus on a date for elections in one go across the country. However, after negotiations concluded on Tuesday last, the PTI told the court in a report that no solution could be arrived at and asked it to implement its order for holding polls in Punjab on May 14. The court also issued written order of the hearing conducted on April 27.
According to the written order, "Today the learned Attorney General for Pakistan has apprised the Court about the communication between the Government coalition and the Opposition during the Eid holidays regarding the matter of general elections." He has further added that initial steps had been taken for nomination of the members of negotiating team from both sides and matters relating to their meeting.
On court's query as to why the Senate chairman has been involved, Farooq H. Naek, Sr. ASC, learned counsel for Pakistan Peoples Party, submitted that the venue for the Senate was chosen for the reason that it is the House of Parliament where the provinces have equal representation and all political parties are present therein. The role of the Senate chairman will only be of a facilitator without substantive involvement.
The order further stated that Shah Mahmood Qureshi, member Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), informed that Chairman PTI had nominated him, Senator Ali Zafar and Fawad Chaudhary as the members of their team.
The Attorney General and Farooq H. Naek, had assured the Court that the Government wanted to commence negotiations as soon as possible and were willing to sit together with the PTI team either today or by tomorrow.
The Attorney General had also stated that the Government coalition would finalise the Names of their nominated members, it added.
The court order further stated that it appreciated the efforts of all parties to try to end the current political impasse and in particular their voluntary agreement to enter into negotiations to choose a single date for holding General Elections to the National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies.
It was made clear by the Court that the talks and negotiations between the two sides were entirely to be their own effort, without any direction or order of the Court in this regard in any manner. It was also made clear that the verdict it had issued to hold elections in Punjab on May 14 remained unchanged.
