Supreme Court won’t’sit idle’ on Punjab polls ruling, says CJ, saying the court is bound by its judgment under the Constitution.
When asked by reporters in ISLAMABAD if the Supreme Court would stand by its earlier decision to hold the elections in Punjab on May 14 if discussions between the government and PTI failed, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said the court would not remain inactive.
He went on to say that the court was bound by its own ruling because of the Constitution.
A case regarding the same-day elections was brought back to court for further consideration before a three-judge panel consisting of Justice Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Justice Munib Akhtar.
The apex court issued a ruling on April 27 that distanced itself from the government-PTI discussions and affirmed its April 4 decision to hold elections in Punjab.
Three rounds of negotiations between the administration and PTI resulted in no agreement on a date for simultaneous elections.
The PTI had applied to the SC on Wednesday, saying that the party’s negotiations with the government had been fruitless and that the court should execute its April 4 ruling to conduct elections in Punjab on May 14.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan made notice of the presence of PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique at the outset of the hearing.
The response from the coalition administration was given in court by PPP lawyer Farooq H Naek. He claimed that the country’s debt had grown by 78 percent.
He also mentioned that last year’s floods had resulted in a loss of $31 billion and an increase of 125% in the circular debt.
Naek proceeded by saying that the assembly couldn’t be disbanded until the budget, the IMF agreement, and the trade policy were all passed.
The PPP attorney said that the government and PTI had settled on a fair playing field and single-day elections, but they had been unable to settle on a date for the dissolution of the legislature.
He also assured the court that this year’s elections should take place on the same day regardless, and that the administration was ready to restart discussions in the benefit of the country.
Legal representation for the PPP said that neither the Sindh nor the Balochistan legislatures were prepared for a premature dissolution.
He also mentioned that negotiating flexibility was essential for both parties.
But he said that the negotiations needed additional time since they couldn’t be concluded in a matter of days.
The CJP noted that the government’s statement placed special focus on the IMF agreement, although the question before the court was constitutional in nature and not political.
He also mentioned that the court had let the parties work out their own political differences.
The chief justice then questioned the significance of ratifying the IMF agreement and trade policy.
Naek said that the budget wouldn’t be passed without the assemblies, and that getting the IMF loan was vital to secure help from friendly nations.
He went on to say that the situation wouldn’t have happened if the provincial legislatures of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa hadn’t been dissolved.
He insisted that the situation was wasting the court’s time as well.
Justice Bandial was curious as to whether or not the IMF loan will be utilized to pay down existing debt or build up foreign reserves.
Naek said the Finance Minister will have to address this question.
The chief justice said that the Constitution still provided four months for the budget even after the legislature was dissolved.
He questioned the lawyer about whether or not the IMF program was being used to draft the budget.
The CJP mentioned reports in the press that after receiving the IMF package, the government will also get loans from friendly countries.
He inquired as to whether or not the PTI recognized the significance of the budget.
No one, as Justice Bandial pointed out, could dispute the Constitution’s 90-day restriction on elections.
The PPP attorney said that there was unanimous agreement that elections could be held within 90 days.
The Chief Justice of the United States stated that upholding the Constitution was of paramount public and national significance.
Elections, he said, will be held in 90 days after the court’s decision.
In the event that discussions fail, Justice Bandial emphasized that the Supreme Court would not sit on its decision to hold elections in Punjab on May 14. Instead, the court would be required to carry out its judgment in accordance with the Constitution.
He went on to say that the court was interested in what was best for the public and that it could not ignore a constitutional issue.
Justice Bandial observed that the Constitution might be used to enforce decisions made by the Supreme Court.
He said, “The court merely sought to carry out its mandate.”
The CJP made reference to claims made in the past that courts did not follow the Constitution, noting that the SC refrained from commenting on such claims out of respect for the Constitution.
He continued by saying that judges didn’t make snap judgements because they knew better.
The CJP pressed the PPP’s lawyer for parallels between the hearing and the parliamentary debate.
See how serious everyone is talking in here,” he said to the courtroom.
The PPP’s lawyer argued that the court must reconsider the elections matter within 90 days.
Caretaker administrations are necessary for elections, he said, citing the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.
He went on to say that nobody would accept the polls if governments were chosen by the people.
Naek said that elections done under caretaker set-ups were also disputed and that there would be much hullabaloo over the results of the polls if there was a normal administration.
The chief justice pointed out that the government had raised its fingers and none of these issues had been mentioned when suo motu notice the matter was taken on February 23.
He also said that the government has brought up caretaker arrangements and funding after previously just caring about a 4-3 decision.
As Justice Bandial pointed out, the administration made no effort to get a ruling from the court.
He went on to say that the administration did not take constitutional processes seriously.
The court, Naek said, was not interested in hearing the government’s side.
The CJP informed Naek that the government had skipped the second round of court proceedings.
However, “you continued your discussions for three or four days instead,” he said.
Justice Athar Minallah had brought up the issue of reestablishing the assemblies, the CJP noted, but the administration was uninterested.
The topic of judgment or the law is not being discussed in modern discourse, he went on to say.
The CJP made the observation that the government’s sincerity was demonstrated by the absence of a review appeal of the SC’s ruling.
“The government doesn’t want to talk about law but wants to do politics,” he said.
The Chief Justice has stated that the court would not take sides in political disputes.
He also said that he had sworn to defend the Constitution.
The country is facing a constitutional crisis as well as economic, political, and security problems, the chief judge said.
Eight individuals had chosen martyrdom, he said to the PPP lawyer the previous day.
The administration and the opposition, Justice Bandial said, “will have to get serious.” He went on to say that if the court didn’t make sure the law was being followed, it should be up to the political parties to figure it out.
To paraphrase his exact question: “Should we [judges] turn a blind eye to the public’s interest?”
The CJP said that the government must comply with the court’s rulings.
He went on to say that the court’s moderation was not a sign of weakness.
The chief judge said that the court would do all it took to see that the law was enforced.
The judges were ready to make sacrifices, he said, just like the country’s armed forces had.
The PTI’s lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, stated today that his party supported nationwide elections on the same day, with the caveat that legislative bodies be dissolved by May 14.
He also said that holding polls by the second week of July was the PTI’s second requirement.
Zafar went on to say that a constitutional modification was necessary to satisfy the PTI’s third need, which was that elections be postponed.
The polls are scheduled on May 14, but the PTI attorney noted that time was running out and no money had been allocated.
Zafar insisted that the government couldn’t seek to postpone the elections and that the PPP lawyer’s arguments didn’t matter.
The CJP informed him that Naek had only highlighted the difficulties in conducting the elections.
Because of the idea of necessity, elections, according to Zafar, could not be postponed any longer.
Khawaja Saad Rafique, the head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and the minister of railways, took the rostrum later and declared that he was neither a lawyer nor familiar with courtroom protocol but would still tell the truth.
The minister argued that there was little confidence among the various political parties and institutions.
Since 2017, Rafique said, the judiciary has been “unfair” to his party. But he noted that the PML-N was not interested in fighting other institutions as long as people’s basic necessities were not being satisfied.
The minister stressed the need for openness in the Constitutionally mandated 90-day demand.
In the past, he said, the country nearly fell apart because people wouldn’t accept the election results.
The need of democratic and open procedures was emphasized.
Rafique demanded nationwide elections be held on the same day, stating that holding them in only one province would lead to eventual devastation.
The minister explained that it would be problematic to prematurely dissolve the legislatures in Sindh and Balochistan in order to benefit Punjab.
Rafique thanked the PTI for their willingness to negotiate “with an open heart” and advocated for the continuation of discussions.
Involvement of the court in political matters, he explained, inevitably led to issues.
The CJP had informed him that the judiciary was unable to act because of the current environment.
Even during significant conflicts, elections had taken place, the chief judge pointed out.
He went on to say that elections had taken conducted in Turkey even after a major earthquake.
The CJP informed Rafique that it was clear from his statements that he did not intend to break the law.
The presiding judge noted that the comments concerning Punjab were political in character but were not submitted in writing.
He went on to say that, in court, money and security were the main topics of conversation.
The CJP said that good governance may be shown at the very least by releasing election monies that had been withheld.
The chief justice noted that the court had been briefed on security and afterwards questioned whether there was any assurance that things will be better by October 8.
The timing of the elections, he noted, was based entirely on speculation.
PTI member Qureshi said that the government’s report did not offer any new information and rather restated the government’s prior position.
He also said the PTI has done everything it could to ensure the meetings were fruitful.
But, he noted, the treasury benches in parliament had made statements that amounted to defiance of judicial mandates.
The PTI leader said that all members of his party’s negotiation team signed his party’s report given to the SC on Wednesday, but only Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s signature appeared on the government’s answer.
The CJP responded that notwithstanding the early hour of submission, a hearing was held on the government’s report.
The CJP saw no signs of negotiating interest from the government or PTI.
He went on to say that all the court needed to check was whether or not the two parties had settled on an election date.
The Chief Justice then wanted to know if a ruling could be made in the next few days.
Qureshi insisted that the coalition government, which he claimed was made up of 12 parties, was requesting additional time. However, “[PTI chairman and deposed premier] Imran Khan and everyone else criticised why a gap of three days was given,” he revealed.
The PTI leader further said that the negotiations with the IMF has stalled.
However, the CJP stated that the topic was inappropriate for court. According to Qureshi, the government is trying to force the country into a constitutional crisis, thus he asked the court to investigate the PTI’s position.
The CJP congratulated him on reading his party’s position.
The presiding judge further said that the case may go on until May 14 if it pertained to the conduct of elections in Punjab. If the PTI and the government were both interested, he said, negotiations might resume.
Qureshi said the government was being inflexible, despite the PTI having “sacrificed” administrations in Punjab and K-P.
He continued by saying that conditions were always favorable for talks.
On the other hand, he insisted that the administration was just being idle.
When asked if the political parties could continue negotiations, the CJP said they could if they wished and that the court would make an appropriate ruling.
The court session was eventually called off.
