Minster fears another controversy over SC ruling

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that he feared the Supreme Court’s decision on the petitions against the trial of civilians in the military courts might become controversial same as the apex court’s ruling on the elections in Punjab on May 14.

Addressing the National Assembly, the minister said that if the court were not seen to be doing justice then its decisions would carry no weight. He was referring to the hearing of the petitions by a nine-member bench.

The nine-member bench took up the pleas on Thursday. However, at the very outset of the hearing, two senior judges refused to sit on the bench, questioning its legality in the wake of the court’s stay order on the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act.

“See what is the situation there,” Rana said, referring to the Supreme Court. “What kind of analysis is being presented about it [in the media]. A judge who will be sworn in as the chief justice two months later says that he does not believe in this court,” he added.

“That judge [Senior Puisne Judge Qazi Faiz Isa] says that this court has no legal and constitutional status,” Rana told the house, adding that later a seven-member bench was formed immediately to hear the petitions.

He also said that the Constitution did not empower the courts to suspend any law enacted by parliament. “It is not written anywhere in the Constitution that parliament mulls over a law and the court give it a stay.”

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Referring to a previous apex court decision of ordering election to the Punjab Assembly on May 14, the minister said that vote could not be held on that date and “then everyone saw what happened” to that decision.

“Everyone beseeched the chief justice with folded hands that a larger bench should be formed on this matter. Parliament also demanded a larger bench. But instead, the chief justice issued the decision of a three-member bench.

The minister warned that the people involved in the events of May 9 would be brought to justice.

During the session, the National Assembly members (MNAs) brought forward critical issues affecting their constituencies. Mir Amer Ali Khan Magsi highlighted the aftermath of last year's floods

Salahuddin of the Mutttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) raised concerns over the unscheduled load shedding in his constituency, while Mohsin Dawar urged the government to increase the number of judges in the Peshawar High Court.

Additionally, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz's (PML-N) Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan called for the withdrawal of a 2% loan dedication for small farmers.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP)