Govt says SC polls verdict ‘impractical order’ defies logic

Cabinet observes SC should not have gone in confrontational mode

ISLAMABAD:

The executive and the judiciary -- two vital state organs -- seem to be on a collision course as the coalition government demonstrated its disdain over the apex court’s ruling, nullifying the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s decision to delay election in Punjab till October 8 this year after initially announcing it to hold on April 30.

Hours after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the poll delay case filed by the PTI, the Centre expressed its reservations over the verdict in the federal cabinet as well as in the National Assembly, saying the decision was “against the principle of propriety of justice” and would worsen the political crisis in the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while speaking in the lower house of parliament, did not hesitate in equating the top court verdict with the “judicial murder” of late premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, pointing out that both had happened on April 4 -- the day the PPP founder was hanged.

A three-judge SC bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, announced the verdict on the PTI's petition challenging the ECP’s move to postpone the Punjab Assembly polls till October.

The chief justice announced that the election in Punjab would be held on May 14 as the SC declared the ECP’s decision “unconstitutional”.

The government, however, has termed the verdict contrary to the judgments of the Supreme Court’s majority judges, saying it was an “impractical order”.

Tensions between the federal government and the apex court came to a boiling point after the top judge of the country continued hearing PTI’s plea against the delay in holding elections in Punjab within the constitutional limit of 90 days despite the ruling coalition’s reservations that later pushed it to explicitly express a lack of confidence in the CJP and two judges hearing the case with him.

Sources revealed that the cabinet, while gauging the situation arising out of the verdict, observed that the SC should not have gone in confrontational mode as there was no harm in forming a full court on the matter.

They added that the crux of the discussion in the cabinet was that the government could not endorse the top court dictating the ECP to hold the polls while disregarding all the aspects raised by the ruling coalition.

A cabinet member said holding the elections was the responsibility of the ECP and it could not be dictated.

The member added that the government was currently waiting for President Dr Arif Alvi to approve the bill, which clips the CJP’s discretionary powers of initiating suo motu proceedings as well as forming benches and then move ahead.

President Alvi has not yet signed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, which was passed by both houses of parliament.

A cabinet source said judicial reforms was a long-awaited demand that was fulfilled and the president should not delay signing the bill as it would help in ending the “one-man show” in the apex court.

PM Shehbaz said in the National Assembly that the federal cabinet was unanimous in demanding that the judicial reference pending against former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto should be taken up by a full court as the whole world knew that the former premier’s martyrdom was a “judicial murder”.

Also read: Punjab polls on May 14 after SC declares ECP decision 'unconstitutional'

The prime minister recalled that one of the judges, who had given the decision against Bhutto, had later admitted about the wrongdoings in the matter.

The premier added that it was an irony of the history that Bhutto was hanged on April 4 -- the same date on which the SC had announced its judgment on the polls in Punjab.

“Just look at what has happened in the past 72 hours in connection with the elections,” PM Shehbaz said, adding that “justice has once again been murdered today”.

PM Shehbaz condemned the “judicial murder” of Bhutto amid desk thumping and slogans of “shame, shame” by the parliamentarians.

Before the prime minister delivered his speech, Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar maintained that two provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were dissolved just to satisfy the ego of a “stubborn man”, PTI chairman Imran Khan, and to create chaos in the country.

The law minister added that neither the CJP had formed a full bench, nor had he taken the option of restoring the previous bench or forming a new one comprising judges, who had not heard the matter yet.

Azam regretted that the SC had even issued a date for elections, saying a judgment from a full court would have expelled all the negative impressions associated with the case.

“We are not the ones running away from the elections,” the minister said at one point, saying an impression should not be given that any institution was allegedly involved in political engineering.

He added that state institutions should be careful and try their best to shun the impression that they were somehow facilitating the political engineering process.

Referring to the discussion in the federal cabinet, the law minister said the prime minister had directed him, the attorney general for Pakistan and the legal team to present recommendations after consulting with the stakeholders about the government's future course of action after the SC decision.

The minister claimed that the settled principle of propriety that “justice is not only done but is also seen to be done” was completely ignored in the polls delay case, adding that this allowed the parliamentarians to raise their voice against it.

Azam further said Fateha was offered for the PPP founder during the cabinet meeting.

He continued that subsequently, he was directed to inform the apex court about the federal cabinet’s decision that the proceedings on the “judicial murder” of Bhutto was pending for the past 12 years and it should immediately be taken up by a full court.

Azam said the cabinet had asked the law ministry to write to the SC for taking up the petition, hoping that the court might sit together for hearing the matter to address the “historic mistake”.

In a related development, Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the verdict given by the three-member SC bench was contrary to the judgments of its majority judges.

“It is an ‘impractical order’ which will further deepen political and constitutional crises,” she wrote in a series of tweets.

The minister said the nation’s time and money would have been saved “if the ‘blue-eyed and impressionist’ [Imran] was directly given control of the PM’s House”.

Marriyum added that the decision given in the case “which was rejected by the senior judges is ‘unconstitutional’”.

She continued that constitutional matters should not be turned into issues of ego as it would be detrimental to the country.

The information minister further wrote that the people were paying the price for the decision, which had disqualified the thrice-elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017 and caused perpetual economic, political and constitutional crises.

“The facilitation of Imran Khan is unacceptable,” she added.