Govt to file Article 6 case against PTI leadership

Ministries have started preparing reference under Article 6 of Constitution

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has decided to file a reference under Article 6 against the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government leadership for violating the Constitution of Pakistan.

The reference will be filed against President Dr Arif Alvi, former prime minister Imran Khan, deputy speaker Qasim Suri and Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema.

Sources said that the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs have started preparing the reference.

They added that the government believed that the president and deputy speaker violated the Constitution in the National Assembly (NA) at the behest of the former premier during the proceedings of the no-confidence motion earlier this month while the constitutional process was sabotaged in the Punjab Assembly by the governor for not administering the oath to CM-elect Hamza Shehbaz.

They said that the incumbent government was of the view that the previous government acted in contempt of clear orders of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the Supreme Court (SC).

In a landmark unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court on April 7 set aside the NA deputy speaker ruling to dismiss the no-trust resolution against then Premier Imran and the subsequent dissolution of the lower house of parliament by President Arif Alvi on the premier’s advice.

Also read: Experts say delaying no-trust vote may invoke Article 6

“The ruling of the deputy speaker of the National Assembly in relation to the resolution for a vote of no-confidence against the prime minister under Article 95 of the Constitution is declared to be contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect, and the same are hereby set aside,” the top court said in its short order.

The apex court ruled that President Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly was also "contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect". It noted that the prime minister could not have advised the president to dissolve the assembly as he continued to remain under the bar imposed under Clause (1) of Article 58 of the Constitution.

Likewise, Governor Cheema, who refused to endorse election of Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza, is also accused of subverting the constitutional process in the provincial legislator.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has maintained that President Alvi subverted the Constitution on the orders of PTI Chairman Imran “which is a clear violation of the Supreme Court and the High Court orders”.

The authorities are obtaining statements of the accused and records of national and provincial assemblies, the insiders said.

The sources also said that relevant court orders and judicial precedents will be attached with the reference to be filed in the Supreme Court.

The reference will write a new chapter in the political and judicial history of Pakistan, they added.

Under the law, the federal government has the authority to take action under Article 6.