ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated his demand for the Supreme Court full court to hear the polls case, saying his coalition federal government would accept the decision of the full court bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case for polls’ date in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
While addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Islamabad Lawyers Complex, PM Shehbaz said that those judges who recused themselves should not be made part of that bench.
The three-member bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, ordered the electoral watchdog to hold the election in Punjab on May 14, a verdict strongly opposed by the incumbent government.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed the date of the polls in Punjab to October 8, which was earlier scheduled for April 30, citing an increase in terror attacks, a shortage of security personnel, along with an unprecedented economic crisis. After the Supreme Court’s order, the ECP notified May 14 as the election date, with the stalled election process to resume on April 10.
Prime Minister Shehbaz recalled that Justice Munir was the creator of the principle of necessity, which took Pakistan in a certain direction. “We respect the Supreme Court (SC) and justices, and their decisions should apply to everyone,” the Prime Minister added.
PM Shehbaz says everybody would have accepted full court verdict
The Prime Minister said that if the demand for a full court bench was accepted in the case for elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, then everyone would have accepted the decision.
He said the decision of senior judge Justice Qazi Faez Esa was invalidated through a circular in an election case; then, a six-member larger bench of the apex court was formed for the same case. The constitution’s Article 63-A was rewritten, and the appeal filed by the federal government in the Supreme Court was still not heard, PM Shehbaz continued.
He said no political party could evade polls as it would bury its politics. He said a supreme court verdict was given that a prime minister (PM) was nothing without his federal cabinet, but this principle was not applied to other institutions.
PM Shehbaz said all the stakeholders should look at their conduct and make a decision whether they wanted to protect the future of Pakistan or they wanted to indulge in fights for their personal interests and take the country in a direction from which nobody could come back.
“We have to protect the future of our country, which is faced with several challenges. We should take decisions with calm and a cool head and stay united for the interest of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.” While expressing pleasure at the construction of Lawyers Complex, he said the project would be built at the cost of Rs1.8 billion.
