“Deepening crisis”: The government and the opposition response to the Supreme Court’s polling judgment
According to Qureshi, “the most crucial day in the political history of Pakistan” is happening right now.
While the coalition government criticized the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to declare the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order to delay the Punjab polls “null and unconstitutional,” leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) applauded it on Tuesday.
The ECP’s decision was “nullified” and deemed “unconstitutional” earlier today by a three-member SC bench hearing the PTI appeal contesting the delay in the Punjab elections.
The Punjab Assembly’s general elections were scheduled for May 14 according to the supreme court.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the PTI, stated that it is “the most momentous day in the political history of Pakistan” after the announcement.
Addressing to the media outside the SC, he declared that the country is pleased that there are still individuals who make decisions based on the Constitution and their conscience.
He continued, “The gap between democratic, constitutional forces and non-democratic, unconstitutional forces has been evident today. Today, the Supreme Court has buried the notion of necessity forever.”
The PTI leader stated, “I congratulate the black-coated attorneys around the nation for coming out for the supremacy of the Constitution.”
The “effort to depart from the constitution” and the “doctrine of necessity” have been rejected, according to PTI Secretary General Asad Umar in a tweet.
Shireen Mazari, the leader of the PTI, supported the decision and insisted that the SC’s ruling “stands reinforced” the constitution.
With [a] little adjustment to account for the 13 days that [the] ECP wasted, the election calendar “remain valid,” she wrote in a tweet.
The PTI representative continued by saying that the ECP’s decision to postpone the Punjab elections on March 22 “has no basis in [the] constitution and the law” and that the ECP’s “shenanigans stand exposed yet again.”
Dr. Shahzad Waseem, the leader of the opposition in the Senate, declared that the Supreme Court’s “historic judgment is a win for the Constitution and democracy.”
The Chief Justice and the Supreme Court, he continued, “have established the supremacy of the Constitution, for which the entire nation pays thanks.”
Government rebukes SC ruling
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) maintained its call for the creation of a full court while criticizing the decision of the top court.
The PML-N stated in a tweet that the elected officials will govern the nation and that they believe a complete court should be constituted.
Azam Nazeer Tarar, the law minister, stated during a press conference that the coalition government was “absolutely clear” in its opposition to “how the SC is being run” and that the most recent decision regarding the Punjab elections would only exacerbate the political crisis the nation is currently experiencing.
He disliked the three-judge panel’s ruling and argued that the hearings ought to have been presided over by the entire court.
It is important to remember that on Monday, when the case was being heard, Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial stated that the government might ask for the creation of a wider bench rather than a full court.
“The decision of the three-member bench looks to worsen the constitutional and political problems,” stated Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.
“The internal divide of the Supreme Court is really bad,” he said.
Lawyers protested the top court’s decision to overturn the ECP’s order to postpone the Punjab Assembly elections in the meantime.
Crowds yelled phrases against the SC’s ruling. A woman was seen holding a placard that said, “We reject [a] one-man show.”
A day prior, Tarar had issued a warning that the government would not tolerate if the Supreme Court issued its judgement on a sensitive and significant topic in a hurry. Tarar feared that the SC would rule in favor of the PTI.
The law minister had remarked during a speech to the National Assembly that the entire country was anticipating the ruling of the highest court and that any rash decision on such a delicate matter would be rejected.
