Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar revealed on Thursday that legal consultations were ongoing following the Supreme Court's (SC) suo motu notice and its judgement in the polls delay case. Following the SC ruling ordering elections in Punjab to be held on May 14, the ruling coalition has taken a hardening stance, saying “people should know the way the Constitution and law were being mocked”, and announced it will bring a resolution against the verdict in the National Assembly on Thursday (today). The development comes despite the Election Commission's (ECP) retreat in accordance with the apex court's order as it has set the election process in motion. Speaking to international media, the law minister maintained that "elections should be held [for the national and provincial assembly] at the same time". "The constitution states that the ECP is burdened with the responsibility of conducting elections," he furthered stressing that "the mechanism for holding elections according to the constitution exists" and implying that the court orders were contrary to it. Read Reference against judges: Not a viable option Reflecting on the "controversial" dissolution of the Punjab Assembly he said that "the matter was first referred to the Lahore High Court. The Punjab governor never signed the summary sent by the chief minister and 48 hours later the assembly dissolved on its own". "A nine-member bench began hearing the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) polls delay case after the chief justice took a suo motu notice of the matter," he said, "two judges had already opined on the matter while two others recused themselves from hearing the case after expressing their opinion." He also lamented that the requests for a full court hearing were not entertained by the five-member bench later on. Listing down his reservations Tarar said that "petitions [pertaining to elections] are sub judice in the high courts of Punjab and K-P, there are security risks involved in both provinces, the federal cabinet declared that the 'minority judgement' is unacceptable, the court did not even listen to the political parties, the federal cabinet has expressed concerns over the [recent] SC judgment" and that "senior judges are being kept away from the bench". In a nutshell, he said "legal discussions are underway over the SC judgment" hinting that the government did not plan on bowing down any time soon. Earlier, Tarar had warned that the government would not accept if the top court delivers its verdict on a sensitive and important issue in haste. Notably, the Senate followed by the National Assembly passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure), Bill 2023 – aimed at curbing the top judge’s suo motu powers in an individual capacity amid protest by the opposition. The federal cabinet has since requested that President Dr Arif Alvi must immediately sign the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023, in an effort to resolve the country's constitutional and political crisis.
from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/qgYWwfD
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