Ruling coalition requests full bench in Punjab CM election case

ISLAMABAD:

The ruling coalition on Saturday “strongly urged” Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to form a full bench to preside over petitions filed with regard to the contentious Punjab chief minister’s election that saw Hamza Shehbaz retaining the office on a technical ground.

“It will only be fair for all respected SC judges to hear Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) review request, the present petition and other related applications together,” it said, noting that “these are very important national, political and constitutional matters”.

Referring to the SC’s ruling on Article 63A, the coalition parties stressed that the cost of the resulting political instability was being borne by the country's economy teetering on the brink of bankruptcy “as well as by the people in the shape of inflation, unemployment and poverty”.

Lambasting the ousted PTI chief, they said, “Imran Khan is repeatedly creating chaos in politics with the aim of avoiding accountability, hiding his corruption and gaining power by stealth”.

“The Constitution has drawn a clear line between the authorities of the legislature, judiciary and the executive,” the statement read, “which an arrogant, anti-constitutional fascist figure is trying to erase”.

The joint statement went on to accuse Imran Khan of wanting to "destroy Pakistan’s Constitution, peoples' right to rule and democracy, just like the economy”.

Reiterating their commitment to the aforementioned three tenets, the ruling coalition parties said that there would be “no compromise” on the matter. Furthermore, the parties said that they would “proceed together” in a joint effort to “fight the darkness of fascism”.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that his party “had no hope of getting a just verdict” from the Supreme Court bench hearing the PML-Q’s petition challenging Punjab chief minister election.

“We have no hope of getting a just verdict from the bench listening to the case related to the election of Chief Minister Punjab,” said Sanaullah in a tweet from his official handle late Saturday.

The minister added that they have demanded the formation of a full court and a written application in this regard will be submitted on Monday.

Taking to Twitter, Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that her party should not be expected to accept “unilateral” decisions.

Read Ruling coalition celebrates Hamza's re-election; PTI vows legal battle

The daughter of PML-N supremo and former premier Nawaz Sharif further wrote that the “house of justice”, a reference to the Supreme Court, succumbed to the pressure of bullying, intimidation, rudeness and abuse.

“It repeatedly makes specific decisions through the same bench and then negates them itself,” she added.

“If all the weight is put on one side of the scales, then we should not be expected to bow our heads in front of such unilateral decisions. Enough is enough.”

She further maintained that the current series of political turmoil and instability began with the court decision by which the “arbitrary” interpretation of the Constitution was issued not to count the votes of those lawmakers, who had voted voluntarily.

“Today, it is being reinterpreted to benefit the same favourite (PTI chairman and deposed premier Imran Khan) tomorrow,” she claimed.

PML-N senior leader, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, said on Saturday anti-PML-N judges should not hear cases related to the party, particularly those who had passed the sentence against Nawaz.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, the minister added that some judges, who had sentenced Nawaz and other leaders, were part of the benches hearing new cases against the party.

Asking the chief justice of Pakistan to form full benches to hear the cases related to the PML-N, Sanaullah said these judges should not be included in them.

“Otherwise, a full court should hear these cases,” he added.

The minister further maintained that PTI chief Imran was misleading the nation through “baseless propaganda”.

He claimed that Imran had been propagating for the last three days that his men were being purchased through large sums of money.

“But the number of votes in the Punjab Assembly for the chief minister's election has exposed his propaganda as not a single member of either side [PTI and PML-N] had voted against their party.”

Talking about the ruling in the Article 63-A case, he said the party had suffered because of it and elections were held again.

“Now as the decision has been enforced on the other party, it should not be interpreted in a different manner.”

Sanaullah claimed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was not announcing its verdict in the foreign funding case, fearing that Imran might use derogatory and abusive language against it.

He demanded that the ECP should immediately announce its verdict.

Read more Elahi goes hit wicket!

Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Hamza was elected the chief minister against Punjab Assembly Speaker Elahi as a result of the implementation of the SC verdict.

She added that the top court in its verdict had given the authority of vote only to the party chief.

She noted that the PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had issued the instructions to his party MPAs and they were bound to abide by it.

“The Supreme Court has empowered the speaker to reject the votes in the light of the party head's instructions, she maintained.

“It had also ordered the removal of the members who violated the decision of the party chief,” she added.

In reaction to PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry’s remarks, she said 10 votes of the PML-Q members were rejected during the election for the Punjab chief minister’s slot in the light of the Supreme Court's decision.

Addressing a news conference in Model Town, Lahore, Punjab Home Minister Attaullah Tarar said the success of the PML-N in election for the Punjab chief minister slot was in accordance with the law and Constitution.

He added that justice should not have double standards.

He said 25 PTI members of the provincial assembly were de-seated on the basis of a reference, sent by the party head against them.

"Where was it proven that these 25 members were directed to vote for Chaudhry Parvez Elahi?" asked the minister.

Speaking on Elahi’s petition, he said the judges, who already heard the matter, had a particular opinion on the issue.

“So it is necessary that either a larger or full bench should hear it,” he added.

Addressing a press conference at his residence in Faisalabad, PML-N central leader Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali said the party respected courts, but those elements which were intimidating constitutional institutions, must be dealt with an iron hand.

The former federal minister hoped that the courts would now de-seat the 10 PML-Q members of the Punjab Assembly, similar to what it had done with the 25 PTI members, who had voted against the directions of their party head.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, PML-N’s Talal Chaudhry maintained that his party had always respected court verdicts, however, it wanted across the board decisions and equal standards of justice.

He added that across the board accountability should be ensured as nobody was above the law.

(With input from APP)