Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said the Supreme Court’s role was not that of an “arbitrator” as he pointed out that the ruling federal alliance unanimously wanted elections on the same day across the country.
Addressing separate huddles of the parties in the ruling coalition, PML-N parliamentary party and cabinet, the premier said elections were an issue that needed to be decided in parliament and the appropriate time to conduct them was either in October or November.
PM @CMShehbaz addressing a meeting of coalition parties' leaders in Islamabad https://t.co/6wm8JIyrDi
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) April 26, 2023
PM Shehbaz’s remarks came on the day which was the top court’s deadline to the government and the opposition PTI to hold talks to reach a consensus on a date for simultaneously holding countrywide polls or the elections in Punjab will be held on May 14 as per its earlier order.
The top court will continue hearing the elections delay case on Thursday (today) and seek a report on the progress of the negotiations between both sides.
The huddle of the allied parties was attended by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) president and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman; PPP chairman and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari; former president of the country and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari; his party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira; Balochistan Awami Party MNA Khalid Magsi; PML-N stalwart Sardar Ayaz Sadiq; MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui; BNP-M’s Agha Hassan Baloch; PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Salik Hussain and National Food Security and Research Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema; Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb; Federal Communications Minister and JUI-F chief’s son Maulana Asad Mehmood and Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar among other key members of the ruling coalition.
Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan also attended the meeting.
PM Shehbaz maintained that arbitration was not the job of the top court and it was only supposed to decide cases in accordance with the law.
“To act like a panchayat is not their job,” he underscored. “Their job is to decide matters as per the Constitution,” he added.
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The premier further said the decision of the three-member bench of the SC -- comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar -- to hold polls in Punjab on May 14 was not accepted by parliament.
PM Shehbaz added that the government still stood by its interpretation of the apex court’s earlier April 4 verdict as 4-3 and considered its 3-2 decision as “unconstitutional” and “illegal”.
However, the premier continued that the government wanted to take matters further with the three-judge bench, which on Thursday (today) had sought a reply in connection with the election funds.
PM Shehbaz said parliament was the supreme institution and its decisions had to be accepted.
“The issue of election funds will come back to parliament and it will resolve it,” he added.
The premier continued that the forum of parliament would be used in view of any possible court decision.
PM Shehbaz noted that parliament completed its term on August 13 and if 90 days were added to that, the date should come up to November or October.
The premier regretted that the PTI, instead of solving the challenges faced by the country, had “only exploited them further”.
“They told their own provincial finance minister to communicate to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] that they are unwilling to fulfil the conditions [set by the global lender],” he said.
Read more Political activities heat up on eve of SC deadline
“Pakistan had no shortage of issues and they only added to it by claiming that the US had conspired [to oust Imran Khan’s government]; and if that wasn’t enough, they shamelessly took a U-turn saying that the plot was not finalised in the US, but rather woven up in Pakistan,” he added.
“And not just that, but our foreign interests were destroyed,” he continued.
PM Shehbaz maintained that the “seeds of bitter divisions were sown in all domains of life in Pakistan” by Imran’s politics, as he regretted the rhetoric against the armed forces in particular.
“I have no qualms in admitting that the PTI’s agents, who are the enemies of the country, played such a role against the military that even an enemy could not live up to that,” he added.
In spite of his disagreements, the premier stressed that “all matters are to be settled by the parliament and nobody else”, adding that there was “an overwhelming opinion that the doors for dialogue should be left open” to which he was willing to comply.
However, he continued that the question about the format of the dialogue would remain open for discussion.
The premier suggested that one possible route could be that the National Assembly speaker and the parliamentary committee could take up the responsibility to help find a resolution to political differences.
The participants also condemned the audio leaks wherein the mother-in-law of the incumbent CJP, former top judge Saqib Nisar, PTI legal adviser Khawaja Tariq Rahim and his wife could allegedly be heard conspiring against the current government.
They noted that audio recordings purportedly reflected an undemocratic mindset.
During the meeting, there was also a discussion on removing the MQM-P's reservations over the census.
The government's legal team also briefed the participants on the case related to the SC’s deadline for election funds.
The participants decided to resist strongly and it was determined that parliament was supreme.
All the ruling coalition parties pledged to stand with parliament.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Fazl said that the decision to negotiate with the opposition PTI and its chief Imran Khan would be made by the JUI-F's Central Executive Council.
He added that negotiations, if they were held, would take place only in parliament.
During the PML-N parliamentary party’s meeting chaired by PM Shehbaz, it was decided that negotiations with the opposition would only be held at the level of parliament.
The parliamentary leaders vowed not to accept the mediation of any institution for these talks.
According to sources, the prime minister directed the party’s parliamentarians to stay in the federal capital for a few days.
During the cabinet meeting, the premier reiterated the remarks he had made during the huddle with the allied parties.
The cabinet gave the nod to refer the finance ministry’s summary for the release of Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to parliament for a second time.
The development comes two weeks after the NA rejected the Charged Sums for General Election (Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) Bill 2023 -- a bill that the government had tabled to seek funds for holding polls in Punjab and K-P, in line with the top court’s initial orders of issuing funds to the ECP by April 10 for holding elections in the two provinces.
The cabinet members also expressed their sorrow over the loss of lives in an attack on a Counter-Terrorism Department's office in Swat.
The cabinet approved legislation for “Invest Pakistan” on the recommendation of the Board of Investment.
Through this legislation, the office of “Invest Pakistan” will be established under the Board of Investment and operate under a public-private partnership mode.
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