According to the PM, “Arbitration” is not the function of the SC. Shehbaz
The premier has stated that the ruling coalition wants elections to be held on the same day; the highest court should continue to decide cases in accordance with the law.
ISLAMABAD: The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, stated on Wednesday that the Supreme Court was not a “arbitrator” and that the ruling federal alliance unanimously desired that elections be held on the same day throughout the nation.
The premier said elections were a matter that needed to be determined in parliament and that the ideal timing to hold them was either in October or November, speaking to separate huddles of the parties in the ruling coalition, PML-N parliamentary party, and cabinet.
The top court gave the government and the opposition PTI till that day to continue negotiations and agree on a date for holding simultaneous national elections; else, the elections in Punjab will be held on May 14 as per its earlier judgment. PM Shehbaz made his comments on that day.
On Thursday (today), the Supreme Court will resume hearing the issue involving the election delay and ask for an update on the state of the talks between the two parties.
President of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PPP chairman and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, former president of the nation and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, his party’s leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, Balochistan Awami Party MNA Khalid Magsi, PML-N stalwart Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, MQ
Mansoor Usman Awan, Pakistan’s attorney general, was present at the meeting as well.
The top court, according to PM Shehbaz, should only resolve cases in accordance with the law, not arbitrate disputes.
It is not their responsibility to behave like a panchayat, he emphasized. He continued, “Their job is to make decisions in accordance with the Constitution.”
Fawad challenges the caretaker governments in Punjab and K-P before the Supreme Court
The chief minister added that parliament had rejected the three-judge SC panel’s decision to hold elections in Punjab on May 14 (which was made by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar).
In addition, PM Shehbaz said the government continued to view the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling on April 4 as 4-3 and its 3-2 decision as “unconstitutional” and “illegal”
The prime minister went on to say that the administration wants to pursue the case with the three-judge panel, which had requested a response regarding the election money on Thursday (today).
Parliament, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz, is the highest authority, and its decisions must be respected.
“The issue of election funds will come back to parliament and it will resolve it,” he continued.
In light of any potential court ruling, the premier continued, the parliament would be used.
PM Shehbaz pointed out that if an additional 90 days were added to the end of the current legislative session on August 13, the date would be either November or October.
The prime minister regretted that the PTI had “only exploited them further” rather than helping the nation overcome its problems.
He stated, “They instructed their own province finance minister to inform the IMF [International Monetary Fund] that they are unable to meet the requirements [established by the international lender].
On the eve of the Supreme Court deadline, political activity picks up.
Pakistan already had a lot of problems, and they made matters worse by alleging that the US had conspired to topple Imran Khan’s government. If that wasn’t bad enough, they then blatantly changed their story and claimed that the scheme had really been hatched in Pakistan rather than the US.
He said, “And not only that, but our overseas interests were ruined.
Imran’s politics, according to PM Shehbaz, “sowed the seeds of bitter divisions in all spheres of life in Pakistan,” and he regretted the rhetoric directed specifically at the armed services.
The PTI’s agents, who are the nation’s foes, “played such a role against the military that even an enemy could not live up to that,” he continued.
Despite their differences, the premier emphasized that “all matters are to be settled by the parliament and nobody else,” and that he was willing to abide by the “overwhelming opinion that the doors for dialogue should be left open.”
He added that the issue of the dialogue’s structure would still be up for discussion.
The speaker of the National Assembly and the parliamentary committee, according to the premier, could take on the task of assisting in the resolution of political conflicts.
The attendees also denounced the tape leaks in which the current CJP’s mother-in-law, former chief justice Saqib Nisar, and PTI legal adviser Khawaja Tariq Rahim and his wife were purportedly heard plotting against the present administration.
They mentioned the idea that audio recordings might have revealed a non-democratic mindset.
The removal of the MQM-P’s objections to the census was also discussed during the conference.
The participants were also briefed by the government’s legal staff on the dispute involving the SC’s deadline for election funding.
The participants made the decision to fiercely resist, and it was ultimately decided that the parliament was supreme.
The parties in the ruling coalition vowed to support the legislation.
After the meeting, speaking to the media, Fazl stated that the Central Executive Council of the JUI-F would decide whether to engage in negotiations with the opposition PTI and its leader, Imran Khan.
He also said that any negotiations will only be held in parliament.
Negotiations with the opposition would only take place at the parliamentary level, it was determined during a meeting of the PML-N parliamentary party presided over by PM Shehbaz.
The parliamentary leaders swore not to accept any institution’s mediation in these negotiations.
The prime minister reportedly ordered the party’s lawmakers to spend a few days in the federal capital.
The prime minister repeated his comments from the discussion with the allied parties during the cabinet meeting.
The disbursement of Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa received approval from the cabinet, which authorised a second referral of the finance ministry’s summary to parliament.
The change comes two weeks after the NA rejected the Charged Sums for General Election (Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) Bill 2023, which the government had submitted to request funding for holding elections in Punjab and K-P in accordance with the top court’s initial orders to provide funds to the ECP by April 10 for holding elections in the two provinces.
The cabinet members also expressed their sadness for the deaths caused by an attack on the Swat office of the Counter-Terrorism Department.
In accordance with the Board of Investment’s proposal, the government adopted the “Invest Pakistan” Act.
Through this legislation, the Board of Investment will establish the “Invest Pakistan” office, which will function as a public-private partnership.
