The Supreme Court reserved its verdict in the case regarding the ruling of Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri in which he dismissed the no-confidence motion against the premier
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday, during the hearing, said that it was evident that the April 3 ruling of Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri was ‘wrong’,
The remarks came during the hearing of the apex court’s suo motu on the legality of the deputy speaker’s ruling in the lower house. A five-member bench headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Mandokhel is hearing the case.
“The real question at hand is what happens next,” he said, adding that now the PML-N counsel and the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan would guide the court on how to proceed.
The chief justice further remarked that there would be no stability in the country even if the National Assembly was restored.
“We have to look at national interest,” he observed.
Earlier, presenting his arguments, Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan argued that everyone needed to be loyal to the state.
Clarifying that he was not defending the ruling, he maintained that he believed that early elections was the only solution to the problem.
He further argued that prime minister was the “biggest stakeholder” and, therefore, had the power to dissolve the assembly.
“The prime minister does not need to give reasons for dissolving the assembly,” the AGP contended.
He added that the under the constitution, the assemblies would have dissolved even if the president failed to act on the premier’s advice within 48 hours.
“Voting on the no-confidence motion is not the fundamental right of a lawmaker,” he argued.
“The right to vote is subject to the Constitution and assembly rules,” AGP argued. He also pointed out that if the NA speaker suspends a member, they cannot approach a court against it.
“Are you trying to say that voting on the no confidence motion is subject to the rules,” the CJP asked, to which the AGP replied that all proceedings, including the no-confidence motion, were carried out in accordance with the rules.
The AGP said that there was no “firewall” that gave complete immunity to parliamentary proceedings.
“The court will decide the extent to which parliamentary proceedings can be reviewed,” he said. The AGP pointed out that the court could intervene if the speaker declared a person with the minority number of votes to be the prime minister.
During the hearing, Justice Mandokhel also pointed out that the ruling announced by Qasim Suri was signed by Asad Qaiser.
Constitutional experts say that the apex court could order parliament to be restored, call for fresh elections, or bar Khan from power if he is found to have violated the constitution.
It could also decide that it cannot intervene in parliamentary affairs.
Justice Munib Akhtar said that the role of the NA speaker is ‘justiciable’ and that means the court can peruse the speaker’s ruling under the constitution.
The Supreme Court has turned down the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for an in-camera hearing on the Lettergate issue.
The PTI’s counsel Babar Awan asked the five-member larger SC bench whether an in-camera hearing is possible as his client wanted to keep the foreign office’s briefing before the court.
The CJP, however, rejected Awan’s request, observing that the court is not currently asking for the letter.
