News Desk
ISLAMABAD: Reacting to the Supreme Court’s verdict to conduct elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in 90 days, the governement opined Wednesday that petitions seeking election date for the two provinces have been dismissed by four-three majority, an opinion that massively contradicts PTI’s interpretion of today’s decision.
Talking to media in Islamabad, the Federal Minister of Law, Azam Nazeer Tarar, said that according to him the petition had been rejected by four-three majority as the verdict was in fact that of a seven member bench. He said that two judges, Justice Athar Minallah and justice Yahya Afridi, who were part of the original nine-member bench had earlier maintained that the case was not fit for hearing before their removal from the bench by Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial.
He added that in today’s verdict Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Qadir Khan Mandokhail maintained, citing justice Minallah and Justice Afridi, that the suo motu proceedings initiated by the CJP were “wholly unjustified” in a joint dissent note, besides being initiated with “undue haste”.
He added that according to him the verdict did not require to be reviewed and that the matter would be further interpreted in pending petitions, seeking the same relief, in the provincial high courts of Peshawar and Lahore.
Dissent note of Justice Shah, Justice Mandokhail
In a joint dissent note in today’s judgement, Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail maintained that the case was not fit for hearing, stating that “such matters should best be resolved by the parliament.”
“We, therefore, agree with the orders dated 23.02.2023 passed by our learned brothers, Yahya Afridi and Athar Minallah, and dismiss the present constitution petitions and drop the suo motu proceedings.”
