Pervaiz Elahi freed from jail after Lahore High Court order [Post# 577]

[Bewal Express]

Why didn't the SC open yesterday.

 

[saeedhk]

I think voting will be held again and PE will become the CM.

 

[MenInG]

I think voting will be held again and PE will become the CM.

You would think so!

==

Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari failed to appear before the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday in a plea filed by PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi challenging his ruling during the chief minister’s re-election a day earlier.

Instead, Mazari’s lawyer attended the hearing, which is being held at the SC’s Lahore registry.

The court had summoned Mazari at 2:30pm after taking up the petition earlier today.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, had directed Mazari to submit the complete record of yesterday’s re-election to the court.


The court had also asked him to specify the paragraph in its opinion on Article 63-A on which he had based his ruling in the CM election.

The bench had also issued notices to Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf, Advocate General of Punjab Shahzad Shaukat and the Punjab chief secretary.

The bench issued the directives while hearing Elahi’s petition, which was filed late last night, after a contentious ruling by the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker led to his defeat — despite having a majority — and Hamza Shehbaz’s re-election as the province’s chief executive.

At the outset of the hearing, Elahi’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar informed the court that in the run-off election yesterday Hamza secured 179 votes against his client’s 186.

But the deputy speaker rejected 10 votes of PML-Q lawmakers on the grounds of a letter, purportedly sent by PML-Q President Shujaat, the lawyer said.

During the hearing, Elahi informed the court that Hamza had taken oath as the chief minister.

However, Chief Justice Bandial responded: “It does not matter. We have to discuss the law and the Constitution.”

The court then summoned Mazari and adjourned the hearing till 2:30pm.

When the hearing resumed, Mazari’s lawyer submitted the deputy speaker’s vakalatnama. When Justice Ahsan questioned why Mazari had not appeared, the counsel, Irfan Qadir replied that he was present to assist the court.

Separately, the chief justice observed that a large number of people were present in the courtroom. Suspending the hearing for some time, he said it would resume when only relevant people were remaining.

‘Imran to announce next plan of action after SC’s decision’

Speaking to the media outside the court after the SC summoned Mazari, PTI leader Asad Umar said the apex’s ruling on the matter was expected today, after which Imran would announce the next plan of action for all Pakistanis who believed in “Haqiqi Azadi” (true freedom).

He described the deputy speaker’s ruling as the “last hiccup of a dying system in which [some] families have been imposed on Pakistan”.

Former foreign minister PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was also present on the occasion, criticised Zardari and said Shujaat’s letter had no “constitutional value” as it had not been circulated among lawmakers.

“That the deputy speaker kept it in his pocket shows there’s mala fide,” he remarked.

DAWN

 

[Waseem]

Eventually PDM crooks will be thrown out, no doubt about it but the way they have exposed themselves will be remembered in history. Civilian supremacy, vote ko izzat dou, why dont elected PMs complete their terms etc etc and then they do everything that goes against their narrative.
Of course their narrative was NEVER about vote ko izzat dou, it was a popular thing to do when they go busted in Panama leaks and now they have exposed themselves.

 

[Markhor]

How have Shujaat and Elahi split ?! They've been joined at the hip for decades.

 

[Pakpak]

How have Shujaat and Elahi split ?! They've been joined at the hip for decades.

Their kids hate each other. You can see that from the tweets and posts they made yesterday.

Moonis is with PTI through and through, Elahi himself said he allied with PTI due to his son

 

[Bewal Express]

How have Shujaat and Elahi split ?! They've been joined at the hip for decades.

No topi drama, foot in both camps. Clever political ploy but it won't last long. Its the need of the hour to work with PE but he isnt trustworthy

 

[Bewal Express]

Their kids hate each other. You can see that from the tweets and posts they made yesterday.

Moonis is with PTI through and through, Elahi himself said he allied with PTI due to his son

So did AZ and the Sharifs but it was all drama. These guys are not people of izzat and ghairat.

 

[MenInG]

The Pakistan Muslim League-led (PML-N) government, all allied parties, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are expected to begin talking over the date of fresh general elections, sources said.

According to sources, both the opponents would shortly hold talks to decide the date for a fresh election to control the ongoing political and economic turmoil. The date for the next general elections is expected to be in October 2022, sources said.

Sources said that the establishment has decided to intervene and start talks between the government and the opposition to take the country out of the political and economic turmoil.

ARY

 

[Bewal Express]

The Pakistan Muslim League-led (PML-N) government, all allied parties, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are expected to begin talking over the date of fresh general elections, sources said.

According to sources, both the opponents would shortly hold talks to decide the date for a fresh election to control the ongoing political and economic turmoil. The date for the next general elections is expected to be in October 2022, sources said.

Sources said that the establishment has decided to intervene and start talks between the government and the opposition to take the country out of the political and economic turmoil.

ARY

If its true then Bajwa has started to bend to the will of the people. What's going to happen to the promises made to NS, SS and AZ.

 

[Pakpak]

So did AZ and the Sharifs but it was all drama. These guys are not people of izzat and ghairat.

From what I have heard the break is genuine. The kids despise each other.

Their party is finished anyhow. Moonis will either ally what's left of it or join PTI.

You can quote me on this.

As for elections PDM just wanted Punjab so during elections they can rig everything under their state machinery. They would have had a hard time doing that with no province under their power.

 

[Bewal Express]

From what I have heard the break is genuine. The kids despise each other.

Their party is finished anyhow. Moonis will either ally what's left of it or join PTI.

You can quote me on this.

As for elections PDM just wanted Punjab so during elections they can rig everything under their state machinery. They would have had a hard time doing that with no province under their power.

I hope you are right but they are old hands at this and know how to con people.Its a party with no ideology or purpose and I hope it's the end for them. If Moonis is to join PTI he needs to clear his name 1st because anyone with cases is open to blackmail.

 

[Pakpak]

As for Shujaat just before the vote he released a video saying he will support Elahi

I've read that he was blackmailed eith the threat of videos of prostitutes with him and that they would be leaked

 

[Bewal Express]

As for Shujaat just before the vote he released a video saying he will support Elahi

I've read that he was blackmailed eith the threat of videos of prostitutes with him and that they would be leaked

I hope they aren't recent videos because the bawa can barely move. Everyone of the mafia has videos of Everyone else and that's why this corrupt system suits all of them and the establishment. Kaptaan is an interloper into this world of corruption and videos. Its the reason no one gets convicted or ever goes to jail. Its this corrupt system that we need to smash

 

[MenInG]

The Supreme Court (SC) has announced to maintain Hamza Shehbaz as the interim Chief Minister (CM) until the court arrives on a decision regarding the CM election case, ARY News reported.

The hearing has been adjourned until Monday. Cannot leave the province without a Chief Executive, the court ruled.

According to details, the LHC has ordered to maintain Hamza Shehbaz as the interim CM of Punjab until the decision on the CM election case is made. The court has also ordered the Punjab government to submit their written response regarding the CM election case.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan Umer Atta Bandiyal said that Hamza Shehbaz would work as a trustee until the decision of the case. Advocate-General Punjab Irfan Qadir has to submit the written response by the government, he added.

The Advocate-General Punjab said during the hearing that the Deputy Speaker gave his ruling in accordance with section 3 of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 63(A).

The court said that the judgement read that the vote would not be counted if it is against the parliamentary party’s decision. The deputy speaker deemed the party head as the head of the parliamentary party, AG Punjab added.

The AG added that he thinks the Deputy Speaker did the right decision.

 

[Pakpak]

I hope they aren't recent videos because the bawa can barely move. Everyone of the mafia has videos of Everyone else and that's why this corrupt system suits all of them and the establishment. Kaptaan is an interloper into this world of corruption and videos. Its the reason no one gets convicted or ever goes to jail. Its this corrupt system that we need to smash

100%

Rumors est wants early elections, without Punjab with PTI they will be rigged. That's why it was important for them to have manhoos Hamza as CM

 

[Bewal Express]

PE won the election and should have been declared as CM. The SC knows it should have happened but are too scared of Bajwa. This nonsense about adjournment is plain rubbish to buy time for Bajwa

 

[Pakpak]

PE won the election and should have been declared as CM. The SC knows it should have happened but are too scared of Bajwa. This nonsense about adjournment is plain rubbish to buy time for Bajwa

Yup no courts opening midnight this time

I have been completely astounded at how far the est went to stop Khan and in the process ruined whatever little improvements we had made in the last few years.

All ruined.

All this PDM bakwaas has set us back atleast a decade.

 

[Bewal Express]

PE won the election and should have been declared as CM. The SC knows it should have happened but are too scared of Bajwa. This nonsense about adjournment is plain rubbish to buy time for Bajwa

It takes years for a tree to grow but it takes a few seconds to cut it down.

 

[MenInG]

Think its not as bad as it looks

Main thing is that the by-elections have shown that the country has some backbone

Rest of this tamasha will be resolved.

 

[Browncaps]

The Supreme Court (SC) has announced to maintain Hamza Shehbaz as the interim Chief Minister (CM) until the court arrives on a decision regarding the CM election case, ARY News reported.

The hearing has been adjourned until Monday. Cannot leave the province without a Chief Executive, the court ruled.

According to details, the LHC has ordered to maintain Hamza Shehbaz as the interim CM of Punjab until the decision on the CM election case is made. The court has also ordered the Punjab government to submit their written response regarding the CM election case.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan Umer Atta Bandiyal said that Hamza Shehbaz would work as a trustee until the decision of the case. Advocate-General Punjab Irfan Qadir has to submit the written response by the government, he added.

The Advocate-General Punjab said during the hearing that the Deputy Speaker gave his ruling in accordance with section 3 of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 63(A).

The court said that the judgement read that the vote would not be counted if it is against the parliamentary party’s decision. The deputy speaker deemed the party head as the head of the parliamentary party, AG Punjab added.

The AG added that he thinks the Deputy Speaker did the right decision.

He was never legally elected as CM in the first place.

Quite obvious where SC gets their orders from.

They are asking for a repeat of the 70s by rejecting peoples mandate.

 

[Major]

Supreme court rightly gave the verdict here.

It was funny seeing pti lose this and hamza win , but deputy speaker should follow the constitution.

Speaker and deputy speaker are important roles and its sad how many of our recent speakers have violated the constitution and and their roles.

Mazari and qasim suri need to be made examples of this. There actions cause political instability in the country

 

[MenInG]

Supreme court rightly gave the verdict here.

It was funny seeing pti lose this and hamza win , but deputy speaker should follow the constitution.

Speaker and deputy speaker are important roles and its sad how many of our recent speakers have violated the constitution and and their roles.

Mazari and qasim suri need to be made examples of this. There actions cause political instability in the country

Bro its Pakistan.

Jiss kee Lathee Uskee Bhains applies to all walks of life.

 

[KingKhanWC]

These Kangaroo courts need to abolished. Bring in brand new judges in all high courts even if they are educated abroad or are not Pakistanis.

When judges can be bought off, there can never be justice.

 

[MenInG]

These Kangaroo courts need to abolished. Bring in brand new judges in all high courts even if they are educated abroad or are not Pakistanis.

When judges can be bought off, there can never be justice.

Its not where you are educated - its the values you have inculcated.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Its not where you are educated - its the values you have inculcated.

Agree. But it seems Pakistani judges can be easily bought off. Perhaps judges who are not Pakistani. After all its the law which needs to be followed, the judges ethnicity is not so important. It may also make Pakistani judges think twice in future.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that her party should not be expected to bow down to "unilateral decisions".

The PML-N leader was referring to apex court's short order issued earlier in the day, wherein the top court suspended the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling and restrained Hamza Shehbaz to exercise absolute powers and serve only as a “trustee” chief minister until the hearing resumed in Islamabad on Monday.

The ruling came a day after PML-N won a dramatic victory against the PTI that only a few had predicted in the Punjab chief minister’s election, retaining the throne of Punjab after surviving its closest brush with loss in the country’s political heartland.

Warmed in the nick of time by a letter from PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — instructing his MPAs to vote for PML-N’s candidate — Hamza Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter.

According to Mazari, Hamza received 179 votes whereas Elahi garnered 176 votes, but only after 10 votes of Elahi’s own party were not counted, which turned the tables in Hamza’s favour.

"If the house of justice also comes under the pressure of bullying, threats and insults, repeatedly makes specific decisions through the same bench and negates its own decisions then we should not be expected to bow our heads in front of such decisions. Enough is enough," Maryam wrote on her official Twitter handle on Saturday.

The PML-N leader said that the current political chaos and instability began with a court verdict, through which an arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution was issued to not count the votes of those who voted voluntarily.

"Today, it is being reinterpreted so that the same ladla (favourite) can benefit from it again like he had benefitted in the past," she said, referring to former prime minister Imran Khan.

Express Tribune

 

[Bewal Express]

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that her party should not be expected to bow down to "unilateral decisions".

The PML-N leader was referring to apex court's short order issued earlier in the day, wherein the top court suspended the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling and restrained Hamza Shehbaz to exercise absolute powers and serve only as a “trustee” chief minister until the hearing resumed in Islamabad on Monday.

The ruling came a day after PML-N won a dramatic victory against the PTI that only a few had predicted in the Punjab chief minister’s election, retaining the throne of Punjab after surviving its closest brush with loss in the country’s political heartland.

Warmed in the nick of time by a letter from PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — instructing his MPAs to vote for PML-N’s candidate — Hamza Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter.

According to Mazari, Hamza received 179 votes whereas Elahi garnered 176 votes, but only after 10 votes of Elahi’s own party were not counted, which turned the tables in Hamza’s favour.

"If the house of justice also comes under the pressure of bullying, threats and insults, repeatedly makes specific decisions through the same bench and negates its own decisions then we should not be expected to bow our heads in front of such decisions. Enough is enough," Maryam wrote on her official Twitter handle on Saturday.

The PML-N leader said that the current political chaos and instability began with a court verdict, through which an arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution was issued to not count the votes of those who voted voluntarily.

"Today, it is being reinterpreted so that the same ladla (favourite) can benefit from it again like he had benefitted in the past," she said, referring to former prime minister Imran Khan.

Express Tribune

Another attack on the SC on the cards? Well as these thugs are above the law, and Bajwa is on their side, a SC that has bent backwards to support regime change will get a deserved beating

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Farrukh Habib has said that political rival PML-N had lost the political battle and was left with no option to save its Punjab government led by Hamza Shehbaz.

“Nobody is ready to defend the illegal and unconstitutional ruling of the deputy speaker,” he said while speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry on Saturday.

The PTI leader was referring to apex court short order issued earlier in the day, wherein the top court suspended the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling and restrained Hamza to exercise absolute powers and serve only as a “trustee” chief minister until the hearing resumed in Islamabad on Monday.

The ruling came a day after PML-N won a dramatic victory against the PTI that few had predicted in the Punjab chief minister’s election, retaining the throne of Punjab after surviving its closest brush with loss in the country’s political heartland.

Warmed in the nick of time by a letter from PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — instructing his MPAs to vote for PML-N’s candidate — Hamza Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter.

According to Mazari, Hamza received 179 votes whereas Elahi garnered 176 votes, but only after 10 votes of Elahi’s own party were not counted, which turned the tables in Hamza’s favour.

Farrukh, in his today’s media interaction, said the deputy speaker’s ruling was not in line with the Supreme Court verdict on Article 63-A related to the defection clause and added that only parliamentary head of the party had the right to issue directions to the lawmakers.

“If Hamza Shehbaz is fond of wearing achkan suit then he should participate in fashion shows,” he remarked.


The former state minister said the apex court with an “open heart” allowed CM Hamza to serve as the ‘trustee’ chief executive of the province otherwise in reality “he is the fake chief minister”.

“All eyes are on the Supreme Court. We are hopeful that Pervez Elahi will be the chief minister of Punjab,” he added.

He also took a jibe at the former president Asif Ali Zardari, who played a key role in winning Chaudhry Shujaat’s support for PML-N, saying he is only “bhaari (heavy) on thieves and robbers, not on people”.

‘Fawad blames establishment for political turmoil’

Former information minister and senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the country had been reeling under political crisis due to “unnecessary adventure of the establishment”.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Fawad asked the powerful quarters not to “play” with Pakistan as the country was suffering due to political and economic instability.

“How did Chaudhary Shujaat's letter land in deputy speaker's pocket,” Fawad wondered, adding that the Mazari should be summoned in court for contempt.

‘Chaudhry Shujaat under pressure’

Meanwhile, PML-Q leader Monis Elahi has said in a statement that the party head Chaudhry Shujaat had directed the party members via letter not to vote for either candidate.

Moonis said he discussed the matter of letter with his uncle Shujaat and the PML-Q chief also confirmed that he had written the letter.

After meeting with Shujaat, Moonis said it appeared that his uncle was under “a lot of pressure”.

Express Tribune

 

[Bewal Express]

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Farrukh Habib has said that political rival PML-N had lost the political battle and was left with no option to save its Punjab government led by Hamza Shehbaz.

“Nobody is ready to defend the illegal and unconstitutional ruling of the deputy speaker,” he said while speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry on Saturday.

The PTI leader was referring to apex court short order issued earlier in the day, wherein the top court suspended the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling and restrained Hamza to exercise absolute powers and serve only as a “trustee” chief minister until the hearing resumed in Islamabad on Monday.

The ruling came a day after PML-N won a dramatic victory against the PTI that few had predicted in the Punjab chief minister’s election, retaining the throne of Punjab after surviving its closest brush with loss in the country’s political heartland.

Warmed in the nick of time by a letter from PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — instructing his MPAs to vote for PML-N’s candidate — Hamza Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter.

According to Mazari, Hamza received 179 votes whereas Elahi garnered 176 votes, but only after 10 votes of Elahi’s own party were not counted, which turned the tables in Hamza’s favour.

Farrukh, in his today’s media interaction, said the deputy speaker’s ruling was not in line with the Supreme Court verdict on Article 63-A related to the defection clause and added that only parliamentary head of the party had the right to issue directions to the lawmakers.

“If Hamza Shehbaz is fond of wearing achkan suit then he should participate in fashion shows,” he remarked.


The former state minister said the apex court with an “open heart” allowed CM Hamza to serve as the ‘trustee’ chief executive of the province otherwise in reality “he is the fake chief minister”.

“All eyes are on the Supreme Court. We are hopeful that Pervez Elahi will be the chief minister of Punjab,” he added.

He also took a jibe at the former president Asif Ali Zardari, who played a key role in winning Chaudhry Shujaat’s support for PML-N, saying he is only “bhaari (heavy) on thieves and robbers, not on people”.

‘Fawad blames establishment for political turmoil’

Former information minister and senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the country had been reeling under political crisis due to “unnecessary adventure of the establishment”.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Fawad asked the powerful quarters not to “play” with Pakistan as the country was suffering due to political and economic instability.

“How did Chaudhary Shujaat's letter land in deputy speaker's pocket,” Fawad wondered, adding that the Mazari should be summoned in court for contempt.

‘Chaudhry Shujaat under pressure’

Meanwhile, PML-Q leader Monis Elahi has said in a statement that the party head Chaudhry Shujaat had directed the party members via letter not to vote for either candidate.

Moonis said he discussed the matter of letter with his uncle Shujaat and the PML-Q chief also confirmed that he had written the letter.

After meeting with Shujaat, Moonis said it appeared that his uncle was under “a lot of pressure”.

Express Tribune

This is a total humiliation for these thugs. Even after all the rigging and thuggery, they are left with nothing. Kukrii is toast.

 

[moghul]

Shujaat is suffering from Parkinsonism and dementia I heard, how can he deny his 10 law makers from picking their own party's candidate .

 

[Savak]

Shujaat is suffering from Parkinsonism and dementia I heard, how can he deny his 10 law makers from picking their own party's candidate .

Am hearing conflicting reports i.e. Zardari offered him and his sons close to Rs 5 billion and he couldn't refuse. Then i heard Zardari blackmailed him with some videos.

 

[Bewal Express]

Am hearing conflicting reports i.e. Zardari offered him and his sons close to Rs 5 billion and he couldn't refuse. Then i heard Zardari blackmailed him with some videos.

Maybe both. Carrot and stick.

 

[MenInG]

Former information minister and senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday said that the country had been reeling from a political crisis triggered by the “unnecessary adventure of the establishment”.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Fawad asked the powerful quarters not to “trifle” with Pakistan as the country was in the middle of political and economic instability.

“How did Chaudhary Shujaat's letter land in the deputy speaker's pocket,” Fawad wondered, adding that the Mazari should be summoned to court for contempt.

Meanwhile, emboldened after the outcome Punjab chief minister’s re-election came down to the Supreme Court's anticipated ruling, the PTI has said the decision would rout PML-N from Punjab, claiming the fall of Hamza Shehbaz-led government was a 'fait accompli'.

Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry on Saturday, PTI leader Farrukh Habib said that PML-N had lost the political battle and was left with no option to salvage the teetering Punjab government led by PML-N.

“Nobody is ready to defend the illegal and unconstitutional ruling of the deputy speaker,” he said.
The PTI leader was referring to the apex court's short order issued earlier in the day, wherein the top court suspended the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling and restrained Hamza to exercise absolute powers and serve only as a “trustee” chief minister until the hearing resumed in Islamabad on Monday.

The ruling came a day after PML-N won a dramatic victory against the PTI that few had predicted in the Punjab chief minister’s election, retaining the throne of Punjab after surviving its closest brush with a loss in the country’s political heartland that seemed a certainty.

Warmed in the nick of time by a letter from PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — instructing his MPAs to vote for PML-N’s candidate — Hamza Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter.

Farrukh, in his media interaction, said the deputy speaker’s ruling was not in line with the Supreme Court verdict on Article 63-A related to the defection clause and added that only the parliamentary head of the party had the right to issue directions to the lawmakers.

“If Hamza Shehbaz is fond of wearing achkan suit then he should participate in fashion shows,” he remarked.

The former state minister said the apex court with an “open heart” allowed CM Hamza to serve as the ‘trustee’ chief executive of the province otherwise in reality “he is the fake chief minister”.

“All eyes are on the Supreme Court. We are hopeful that Pervez Elahi will be the chief minister of Punjab,” he added.

He also took a jibe at the former president Asif Ali Zardari, who played a key role in winning Chaudhry Shujaat’s support for PML-N, saying he is only “bhaari (heavy) on thieves and robbers, not on people”.

Express Tribune

 

[daytrader]

Legal debate: Composition of benches gets extra importance
Govt’s demand for full court to hear Elahi’s plea shows its lack of trust in judges hearing case

ISLAMABAD:
The debate on the composition of benches in high-profile cases has intensified after the coalition government's demand for the formation of a full court to hear the petition against the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling wherein 10 votes of the PML-Q for the election of the chief minister were rejected during the recount process held a day earlier.

The demand of a full court composition reflects that the coalition government lacks trust in the incumbent bench hearing the petition.

Concerns over formation of benches are being raised by Supreme Court judges as well.

During the tenure of ex-chief justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Qazi Faez Isa had raised questions on his and Justice Maqbool Baqar's exclusion from benches hearing constitutional cases.

Instead of addressing his concerns, the ex-CJP in his order had noted that Justice Isa should not hear cases related to then prime minister Imran Khan.

Interestingly, his order was also signed by three other judges. However, superior bars criticised the former CJP’s order, which was still in field.

It was also witnessed that cases of a petty nature were fixed before Justice Isa's bench during ex-CJP Gulzar's tenure.

The practice of inclusion like-minded judges is not new as the same course was adopted by ex-CJPs Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Mian Saqib Nisar.

Former CJP Asif Saeed Khosa had made it a practice that senior-most judges would hear cases which came under the preview of Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

However, his successor Gulzar gave up that practice and formed benches of 'like-minded judges' to hear sensitive political high-profile cases.

In March this year, Justice Isa had raised serious questions over the composition of a larger bench to hear the presidential reference seeking interpretation and scope of Article 63-A of the Constitution.

In a three-page letter written to Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, the senior puisne judge raised eyebrows over several aspects of the structure of the bench, including the absence of senior-most judges from it and the procedural method not taken into consideration while constituting it.

He pointed out that no senior-most judge was consulted while forming the bench to hear the case on which the eyes of the entire nation were set, adding that this was troubling because it could potentially give rise to unnecessary and avoidable misgivings. “After all the adage -- justice is not only done but is also seen to be done -- has been oft-repeated by the Supreme Court,” the judge had written in the letter.

Another SC judge Justice Maqbool Baqar, who retired in May, consistently pointed out that assigning cases of sensitive nature to specific judges to the exclusion of others would have an adverse bearing on impartiality and independence of judiciary, and may tarnish its integrity in the eyes of the public.

He expressed similar views in his farewell speech.

Justice Yahya Afridi of the SC noted that to maintain judicial discipline and to uphold the rule of law, there was an inherent and dire need for judicial introspection; to structure the unfettered discretion of the CJP to constitute benches of the Supreme Court to hear and decide cases under Article 184(3), and in particular, suo motu actions, lest the exercise of such jurisdiction may be seen to have been abused.

However, CJP Bandial and Justice Munib Akhtar in their rulings had observed that it was for the chief justice -- as the “master of the roster” -- to determine the composition of a bench “and they may constitute a larger bench for hearing a review petition.

Similarly, both judges gave judicial order in support of the CJP’s discretionary power to exercise suo motu jurisdiction.

A senior lawyer says that in England, the tradition is to have a two-fold diversity -- diversity of judges and diversity of opinion.

In the US, a full court sits in every case.

"Pakistan is also a federation. We should also have a full court or at least a diverse bench for important cases,” the lawyer added.

After Justice Isa’s case, SC judges are divided on ideological lines as was reflected in their orders in high-profile cases.

The same differences were witnessed among the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) members on the elevation of judges to the apex court.

The lawyer said when judges' views on constitutional issues were an open secret, then the CJP should balance the composition of benches.

He should not give perception that only like-minded judges were being included in larger or special benches. The CJP should also end the perception that he was referring sensitive matters to his like-minded judges.

A lawyer said the coalition government's case on the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling was weak but its demand for the composition of a full court was fair.

He added that SC full court meetings should be held continuously to regulate the CJP’s powers about the composition of benches.

No full court meeting has been held for the last two years.

Express Tribune

 

[daytrader]

‘Criticism of institutions’ was final straw for Shujaat

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) President Chau*dhry Shujaat Hussain, the man whose letter supposedly turned the tide of the Punjab chief minister’s election, went on record with his reason for opposing the PTI-backed candidature of his cousin, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, saying he could not support “anyone who criticised state institutions”.

He clarified that while Elahi “was, is and would remain” his candidate for the office of chief minister, he (Shujaat) could not allow him to become “the nominee of PTI”.

Chaudhry Shujaat cited this reason for his opposition to PTI backing for Elahi in a series of tweets that were shared from Mr Shujaat’s official Twitter account.

Parvez Elahi’s son, Moonis, confirmed that the account does indeed belong to the PML-Q chief and is operated by his son, Chaudhry Salik Hussain.

PML-Q chief insists Elahi remains ‘his man’ for CM slot, just not as a PTI-backed candidate

In his tweets, Chaudhry Shujaat wrote: “I cannot support anyone criticising state institutions because he [Shujaat] has cordial relations with the institutions for the past three decades. The state institutions guarantee stability in Pakistan.”

Moonis Elahi, however, claimed that Chaudhry Shujaat was under “immense pressure” and he politely refused to support Parvez Elahi as a candidate of Imran Khan.

Speaking to media persons after his bail hearing on Saturday, asked him to elaborate as to what kind of pressure was being exerted on Chaudhry Shujaat, Moonis said the reporters should put this question to Chaudhry Shujaat.

Moonis said he had gone to see Shujaat Hussain and asked whether he had written the letter on which he replied that he did.

“I have instructed the PML-Q MPAs not to vote anyone in the chief minister’s election being held in Punjab Assembly,” he quoted Chaudhry Shujaat as saying.

As Moonis contested that he [Chaudhry Shujaat] wanted Parvez Elahi not to win, the latter stated that Elahi should become the chief minister, but not as a candidate of Imran Khan. “But when I told him that in such a situation Parvez Elahi will lose the election, the PML-Q president kept mum,” Moonis stated.

It may be mentioned that Chaudhry Shujaat’s letter addressed to Punjab Assembly’s deputy speaker / presiding officer on the election day states that PML-Q president had instructed all 10 MPAs of the party, including CM candidate Parvez Elahi, “to poll their votes in favour of Muhammad Hamza Shehbaz Sharif”.

The letter also carried copies of PML-Q president’s directions to party’s 10 MPAs issued on the election day. However, none of these letters have been shared with the media thus far.

In his tweets, Shujaat Hussain suggested that all political leaders should subordinate their personal interests to the national interests so that the country could come out of the quagmire of crises. Otherwise, he said, the country would further be “divided into ideologies” and become “prey in the hands of people working for their vested interests”. He said the country was already facing a critical situation.

Referring to confrontation within the house of Chaudhrys of Gujrat, Shujaat Hussain said political conflict should not be confused with personal disagreement and stressed that all should stop politics of confrontation and work for the betterment of country and its security and well-being.

“Anyone who gets a chance to rule, should contact political opponents and jointly work for the security and stability of the country,” the PML-Q president concluded.

In a related development, Chaudhry Shujaat had a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday to discuss the political situation after the chief minister’s election.

Sources say this late-night meeting had decided that Hamza Shehbaz should not take oath as CM late in the night and do so in the morning. Sources claimed the meeting was of the view that the case against the deputy speaker’s ruling might be stretched to several dates.

DAWN

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday has said that state institutions were stuck in a vortex due to the errors of their leadership, and nothing negative would have occurred if they had stayed within their limits.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, the former information minister said that the recent strategy of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would completely exclude the party from politics, however, institutions would suffer because of the mistakes of its leaders.

“PML-N will now target the institutions,” he stated.

He maintained that the PML-N was only just realising that it had made a mistake by siding with the establishment against Imran Khan, and they were now making statements against the judiciary and statements against the army would begin in the upcoming days.

He claimed that the flaw in the incumbent ruling party’s scheme was that the masses were no longer like those from the olden days and that the PML-N’s competition was PTI chief Imran Khan.

“The PML-N was born from the womb of the establishment, it was decided among themselves that one brother would do pro-establishment politics and the other would sell anti-establishment slogans,” Fawad alleged, adding that if one brother's plan failed, the other would advance his.

He said that the same formula was being transferred to the next generation of PML-N politicians.

The former minister’s statement comes after the Supreme Court directed that Hamza Shehbaz would remain a ‘trustee’ chief minister of Punjab until July 25 -- the next date of hearing -- after the lawyer representing the deputy speaker of the provincial assembly could not satisfy the bench over the latter's ruling wherein 10 PML-Q MPAs’ votes were rejected in a recount for the election of the province’s top slot held a day earlier.

The top court also directed that Hamza would neither use his powers for political gain nor take major initiatives or decisions until then.

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on Sunday rejected the term “trustee chief minister”, saying the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) members violated the direction of the party head when there is no space of such transgressions in the constitution.

Commenting on the contentious Punjab chief minister's election on July 22 where PML-Q’s 10 votes were disregarded by the deputy speaker for having gone against the party supremo Chaudhry Shujaat’s decision, Kaira said that “it is the party’s leader who has people’s mandate”.

“A parliamentary party is formed after an election and only once elected individuals have become members," he explained during a press conference, “only the party head has the right” to define party direction.

He criticised the role of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for blaming and threatening the national institutions, and said “if he takes the law in his own hands, the law will get him”.

Moreover, he invited the PTI to “give up divisive politics” and “learn from our experience” that “being an angry young man does not get you very far in serving the country”.

Backing the ruling coalitions' call for a full bench review, the PM's aid said that he was confident their request will be entertained by the Supreme Court (SC).

However, when probed by the journalists present of what might happen in the event the apex court refuses to grant their wish, the PPP leader skirted around the issue and said “it would not be appropriate” to comment further.

PML-N reacts to Hamza’s ‘trustee CM’ status

Choosing a more aggressive tone, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique tweeted that the allied parties were “very clear” that “no more intrigue will be tolerated”.

Last night, he had also said that “only politicians will decide” when the elections will take place, “nobody else”.

Following the same tone, party's Vice President Maryam Nawaz “disapproved” the SC decision and said that if courts “repeatedly make specific decisions through the same bench, negate its own decisions and throw their weight behind the same side then we should not be expected to bow our heads in front of such unilateral decisions”

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal also said that “the whole nation is shocked and worried” and questioned, “If Chaudhry Shujaat does not have the right as president [to issue directives to party members], then how was it given to Imran Niazi?”

Another PML-N member, Hina Parvez Butt retorted: “Everyone already knows the decision when ‘their’ bench is formed, why?”

The SC on Saturday had directed that Hamza Shehbaz would remain as a ‘trustee’ chief minister of Punjab by July 25 (Monday) -- the next date of hearing -- after the lawyer representing the deputy speaker of the provincial assembly could not satisfy the bench over the latter's ruling wherein 10 PML-Q MPAs’ votes were rejected in a recount for the election of the province’s top slot held a day earlier.

The top court had also directed that Hamza would neither use his powers for political gain nor take major initiatives or decisions until then.

A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhter, was hearing a plea at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry filed by PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi -- who was also the other candidate for the CM slot

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and other constituent parties of the ruling alliance have announced to file a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking the formation of a full bench to hear a petition on contentious Punjab chief minister election.

According to Express News on Sunday, the major leaders of the coalition parties will also hold a joint press conference at 10:30am tomorrow (Monday) to make an important announcement in this regard.

Following the presser, the ruling alliance leaders will also go to the top court together with their lawyers to file the petition.

The joint petition will be filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), JUI-F, MQM-P, ANP, BNP, BAP and other allied parties.

The ruling allies will reportedly request the court to club the Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) review request, the present petition and other related applications.

Last night, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said that his party “had no hope of getting a just verdict” from the apex court bench hearing the PML-Q’s petition challenging the Punjab chief minister election.

“We have no hope of getting a just verdict from the bench listening to the case related to the election of Chief Minister Punjab,” said Sanaullah in a tweet from his official handle late Saturday.

The minister added that they have demanded the formation of a full court and a written application in this regard will be submitted on Monday.

The Supreme Court on Saturday directed that Hamza Shehbaz would remain as a ‘trustee’ chief minister of Punjab by July 25 (Monday) — the next date of hearing — after the lawyer representing the deputy speaker of the provincial assembly could not satisfy the bench over the latter's ruling wherein 10 PML-Q MPAs’ votes were rejected in a recount for the election of the province’s top slot held a day earlier.

The top court also directed that Hamza would neither use his powers for political gain, nor take major initiatives or decisions until then.

A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhter, was hearing a plea at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry filed by PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi — who was also the other candidate for the CM slot — challenging Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling wherein he had rejected 10 votes of the PML-Q members relying upon the ruling of the top court that read that the votes of those lawmakers, who denied following the party’s instructions, would not be counted.

 

[IMMY69]

^^^
Of course they do so that it drags out for 6-8 months.

 

[Bewal Express]

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and other constituent parties of the ruling alliance have announced to file a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking the formation of a full bench to hear a petition on contentious Punjab chief minister election.

According to Express News on Sunday, the major leaders of the coalition parties will also hold a joint press conference at 10:30am tomorrow (Monday) to make an important announcement in this regard.

Following the presser, the ruling alliance leaders will also go to the top court together with their lawyers to file the petition.

The joint petition will be filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), JUI-F, MQM-P, ANP, BNP, BAP and other allied parties.

The ruling allies will reportedly request the court to club the Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) review request, the present petition and other related applications.

Last night, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said that his party “had no hope of getting a just verdict” from the apex court bench hearing the PML-Q’s petition challenging the Punjab chief minister election.

“We have no hope of getting a just verdict from the bench listening to the case related to the election of Chief Minister Punjab,” said Sanaullah in a tweet from his official handle late Saturday.

The minister added that they have demanded the formation of a full court and a written application in this regard will be submitted on Monday.

The Supreme Court on Saturday directed that Hamza Shehbaz would remain as a ‘trustee’ chief minister of Punjab by July 25 (Monday) — the next date of hearing — after the lawyer representing the deputy speaker of the provincial assembly could not satisfy the bench over the latter's ruling wherein 10 PML-Q MPAs’ votes were rejected in a recount for the election of the province’s top slot held a day earlier.

The top court also directed that Hamza would neither use his powers for political gain, nor take major initiatives or decisions until then.

A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhter, was hearing a plea at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry filed by PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi — who was also the other candidate for the CM slot — challenging Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling wherein he had rejected 10 votes of the PML-Q members relying upon the ruling of the top court that read that the votes of those lawmakers, who denied following the party’s instructions, would not be counted.

the Judges should Make PE the CM and then they can do whatever they want. He won the election, the rest is just noise

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry, in a tweet on Sunday, has criticised the PML-N for their sharp comments targeting the judiciary in the wake of their decision to limit Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz’s position as a trustee CM.

In his tweet, Chaudhry wrote that PML-N was birthed by the establishment adding that "they have internally decided that one (faction) would conduct pro-establishment politics, while the other would choose to be anti-establishment".

He further added that the party is preparing the next generation with ideas to employ different tactics if others don’t work out.

“Now, that the PML-N thinks they made a mistake by aligning with the establishment against Imran Khan, so Maryam Nawaz has turned anti-establishment,” he tweeted.

Fawad also said that comments against the judiciary have started, and those against the military will begin in a few days. “The only downside to this scheme is that these are not the people from 1990s and (the party) is now competing against Imran Khan,” his tweet read.

He added that PML-N’s strategy will not only eliminate the party from politics, but it will also damage institutions in the process.

“It would have been better had they remained within their limits. But anyway, now institutions will target PML-N,” the PTI leader tweeted.

In response to Fawad’s tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb stated that he should stop dragging the military and judiciary into politics.

“(The man) abusing and threatening the institutions should not become its contractor. We will not let them play the establishment and anti-establishment game,” she said in a statement.

The Minister added that the PML-N will not allow anyone to mess with the Constitution and law. “Imran Khan accepted seeking help from the institutions to operate the government for four years. We will not let anyone kill justice through bullying, threats, and abuse,” she stated.

The PML-N leader also said that Nawaz Sharif and PMNL-N’s narrative is in line with the Constitution and will remain so. "It is Khan’s target to take down the institutions’ leadership," she said.

 

[Savak]

Asif Zardari has flown to Dubai. Maybe he knew that it's game over for the PDM.

 

[Bewal Express]

Kukrii has clearly commited contempt of court by naming a cabinet. This is a desperate attempt to look like martyrs when they know they are finished.

 

[Browncaps]

Kukrii has clearly commited contempt of court by naming a cabinet. This is a desperate attempt to look like martyrs when they know they are finished.

True. Apparently they do not even have money to buy poison, yet they named a huge cabinet which will strain meagre remaining resources to send a ''symbolic'' message to the courts ( and maybe others too).

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Sunday announced that he will become a party in the petition filed by PML-Q leader Parvez Elahi against the ruling of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.

Addressing a press conference, the JUI-F chief said he would move a petition with the Supreme Court to become a party in the case.

Echoing the demand of two major parties in the PDM, the PPP and the PML-N, he also asked for the constitution of a full court of the Supreme Court to hear the petition.

Flanked by party leaders, including Akram Khan Durrani and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, he said the party’s chief has the final authority to decide the party policy and all others office bearers (lawmakers) have to follow it.

“A party leader directs their parliamentary party even if they are not a member [of the house],” he said, adding that after the fiasco in the Punjab Assembly, a new discussion has started that only parliamentary leader has the authority to lead the party in the assembly.—APP

Our Correspondent adds: Separately, talking to reporters at his native village Abdul Khel in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday, Maulana Fazl, who also heads Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), warned that the ruling coalition “will never accept any interference, be it soft or hard, in national affairs”.

His remarks came a day after some news channels reported that the establishment has offered “soft intervention” to resolve the current political crisis which has been brewing since former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted through a no confidence motion in April.

The PDM chief said that all State institutions should stay within limits and not exceed their constitutional jurisdiction.

He warned that if the institutions transgress their domain, it will create a crisis that the same institutions would be unable to control. Maulana Fazl said that parliament will take all decisions as per the Constitution “without being blackmailed or pressurised”. He also claimed that the courts and the “authorities” gave full and unconditional support to Mr Khan’s government but since the PDM came to the power, interference in parliamentary and administrative affairs has started.

While claiming that Imran Khan almost bankrupted the country, the PDM chief demanded that the government investigate the allegations of corruption during the PTI-led government and hold everyone accountable.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022

 

[MenInG]

A 37-member cabinet of Punjab’s “trustee” Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz took oath of their offices here on Sunday evening, provoking the ire of the opposition PTI and PML-Q which termed it a violation of the court orders.

The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Governor House around 16 hours before the Supreme Court is to take up on Monday the case related to the controversial runoff poll for the office of chief minister conducted on Friday.

The decision to immediately form the provincial cabinet was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier in the day.

Spoiler

Punjab Governor Bali*ghur Rehman administered oath to the cabinet members. They included ex-speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal, Mehr Iqbal Achlana, ex-food minister Malik Nadeem Kamran, Bilal Yasin, ex-education minister Rana Mashhood, ex-health minister Khwaja Imran Nazir, Yawar Zaman, Manshaallah Butt, ex-agriculture minister Ahmed Ali Aulakh, Saba Sadiq, Malik Asad Khokhar, Saiful Malook Khokhar, Rana Liaquat, Bilal Asghar Warraich, Syed Hassan Murtaza, and Haider Ali Gilani.


Retired Col Ayub Gadhi, Kazim Ali Pirzada, Chaudhry Shafiq, Iqbal Gujjar, Fida Hussain Wattoo, Rana Ijaz Noon, Azma Zahid Bukhari, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, Sania Ashiq, Sibtain Bukhari, Jehangir Khanzada, retired Col Rana Tariq, Qasim Hanjra, Zaheer Iqbal Channar, Zeeshan Rafiq, Qasim Abbas Langa, Ashraf Ansari, Chaudhry Shafiq, Tanveer Aslam Malik, Siddiq Khan Baloch, and Imran Khalid Butt are other members of the cabinet.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry says the oath taking of the cabinet is against the Supreme Court orders because Hamza is not an “elected” chief minister.

“They are making fun of the court orders. They are acting like the Sicilian mafia, which is a matter of concern,” he told media in Islamabad.

Parvez Elahi, who had contested against Hamza Shehbaz for the office of chief minister on Friday, criticised the formation of the Punjab cabinet, saying it was an open violation of the apex court’s orders passed during Saturday’s hearing on his petition challenging results of the runoff poll.

He said oath of the Punjab cabinet was no less than a joke and added that the Trustee Chief Minister was making a mockery of the Supreme Court order by doling out ministries.

Mr Elahi said the swearing-in of the large Punjab cabinet would not be able to save the rulers. The court had appointed Hamza as “trustee” chief minister barring him from making any major decision that could benefit him politically, said Mr Elahi, adding the step warranted contempt of court proceedings against Mr Hamza.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022

 

[daytrader]

Coalition govt addresses press conference in Islamabad ahead of SC hearing

The coalition government is currently addressing a press conference in Islamabad ahead of the pivotal Supreme Court hearing on Chaudhry Parvez Elahi’s petition challenging the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling calling the chief minister’s re-election in Hamza Shehbaz’s favour.

It comes a day after the government announced it would file a petition in the SC for the formation of a full court bench to hear cases related to the interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution, related to the status of defecting lawmakers.

At the outset of the press conference, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that she had been advised not to hold the media talk as it would affect her appeal in the Panama case that was being heard by the Islamabad High Court and was in its “final stages”.

“However, I said that the people’s representative has to think beyond themselves and think about the people.”

Commenting on recent court decisions, Maryam said that their impact stays for decades and intensifies over time.

“I can write an essay praising the judiciary but one wrong decision will dismiss the entire [argument],” she said. On the other hand, a decision based on justice can withstand criticism, she said.

She alleged that petitions were being filed with the court and were not being fixed or were facing delay.

Our justice system is such that when a petition is filed, the people already know what bench will be constituted and the decision that will be given, she said.

Maryam gave several examples of the PML-N’s legal woes, claiming that the party’s leaders were being discriminated against.

She also gave the example of Hamza, saying: “Have you ever heard of a trustee chief minister?”

She said that since Hamza was elected chief minister of Punjab, he was not being allowed to work. “He goes from parliament to court, and back and forth. What justice is this?”

The PML-N vice president pointed out that there were many respected judges appointed to the apex court and questioned why they were not involved in hearing the PML-N’s cases.

“One or two judges, who have always been anti-PML-N and anti-government, they are repeatedly included in the bench,” she said, adding that “bench-fixing is a crime just like match-fixing”.

The PML-N leader asked for the SC to take suo motu notice of this issue.

It should be noted that the case on the legality of the Punjab deputy speaker’s ruling is being heard by a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar— three of the five judges who deemed that the then National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri’s decision to dismiss the vote of no-confidence against Imran Khan in April was contrary to the Constitution, paving the way for the PTI chief’s ouster as the prime minister.

Justices Bandial, Ahsan and Akhtar were also instrumental in the split decision that disallowed the votes of defecting lawmakers from being counted in the Punjab chief minister election, the verdict that set the stage for the re-election that took place last week.

During the press conference, Maryam alleged that court decisions were favouring the PTI even though they were mocking the judicial system.

She questioned the state of judicial system and where the country was headed if decisions were given in favour of those who “abuse and bully institutions”.

‘Endorse Maryam’s view’
During the media talk, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman endorsed Maryam’s view saying that fingers were being pointed at the judiciary.

He said that the government wanted to strengthen the judiciary, where its decisions spoke for themselves. “They shouldn’t have any conflict or give the impression of a bias.”

He said that the a government given the mandate by the people was not being allowed to function. He went on to say that when a government was not formed as per the will of the country’s institutions, a new setup was imposed through rigging.

He said that institutions meddle in political affairs to protect the state but did they ever think that the state is weakened due to their interference?

“You are sitting behind a wall. You may decide whatever you want […] and make politicians the culprit in the eyes of the public and defame them. But if there’s moral courage, hold yourself accountable.”

The Maulana said that the government did not expect any justice from the current bench and reiterated the government’s demand for a full court bench.

He went on to say that the government supported what Maryam said earlier, saying that this was their “united stance”.

“Don’t take this nation to a point where people rebel against institutions,” he said.

He highlighted that the government, the public and parliament were also included among the country’s institutions. He said that the people’s confidence in institutions needed to be restored but the latter should also assess their role and hold themselves accountable.

“We want to make country’s furture brighter but for that stability for the government is important […] We are united on the fact that we have to set the economy right but let us do it.”

The JUI-F said that it was very easy to “create difficulties”.

“If you expect us to not create any difficulties for you, then it is also your obligation to not create difficulties for us […] if there’s support for parliament, institutions and the government, the country will stabilise.”

DAWN

 

[daytrader]

CM PUNJAB ELECTION CASE: SUPREME COURT BARS ENTRY OF POLITICIANS, MINISTERS

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday barred ministers and politicians from entering into its premise as the court will hear a petition from Parvez Elahi against the ruling of deputy speaker Punjab Assembly during the election for CM Punjab, ARY NEWS reported.

According to sources privy to the development, only the applicants and respondents and their lawyers will be allowed to enter the Supreme Court.

“No minister will be allowed to enter the premises of the apex court,” they said.

Previously, it was reported that major political leaders would likely be present in the Supreme Court during hearing of a plea against deputy speaker Punjab Assembly’s ruling.

From PTI, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari, Umar Ayub, Babar Awan, Pervaiz Khattak and Aamir Kayani will attend the Supreme Court’s proceedings.

PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khurram Dastgir, Rana Sanaullah are also likely to appear in the Supreme Court. Nazir Tarar, Ahsan Iqbal, Saad Rafiq and Amir Muqam, Ayaz Sadiq, Atta Tarar, and Malik Ahmed Khan are also expected to appear before the court.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, JUI leader Fazlur Rehman, Maulana Asad, MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Awami National Party Ameer Haider Hoti will also come to the court.

BNP’s Akhtar Mengal, Aslam Bhutani are also likely to appear in the Supreme Court, while Q-League chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Salik Hussain and Tariq Bashir Cheema will also come to the SC.

The security has also been informed regarding Chaudhry Shujaat’s arrival at the Supreme Court, he will confirm his letter in the court, on this occasion strict security arrangements will be made inside and outside the Supreme Court.

ARY News

 

[Bewal Express]

True. Apparently they do not even have money to buy poison, yet they named a huge cabinet which will strain meagre remaining resources to send a ''symbolic'' message to the courts ( and maybe others too).

The want to be siasi shaheed is a ladla and nothing will happen but it was a blatant contempt

 

[MenInG]

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, while hearing a petition related to the recently held Punjab chief minister’s re-election, remarked on Monday that the party head “will also have to listen to the parliamentary party’s opinion”.

He made the remarks during the hearing of a petition filed by PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi challenging Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari’s decision in the chief minister’s re-election last week, which led to Hamza Shehbaz’s victory.

During the re-election, Mazari had decided against counting the votes of 10 PML-Q lawmakers, which were cast in Elahi’s favour, citing a letter written by PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in which he had instructed them to vote for Hamza instead.

A three-member bench, comprising Justices Bandial, Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar are hearing the petition. During the previous hearing on Saturday, they had allowed Hamza — who was re-elected on July 22 — to remain “trustee” chief minister till Monday (today).


Here are the main developments of the hearing so far:

CJP Bandial remarks party head will have to listen to the parliamentary party’s opinion.
Justice Ahsan says parliamentary party decides who to vote for in the assembly.
Justice Ahsan observes deputy speaker exceeded court’s interpretation in his ruling
Court says facts in re-election case different from case on dissident MPAs.
PTI lawyer contends judicial interpretation of Article 63-A was clear and unambiguous
“Trustee” Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz requests court to constitute a full bench to hear Elahi’s petition, clubbed with the review of SC’s interpretation of Article 63-A.
PPP, PML-Q, and JUI-F file petitions to become parties in the case.
There was a flurry of activity even before today’s hearing began as the coalition government reiterated its demand for the formation of a full court bench to hear cases related to hear the case related to the Punjab chief minister’s election.

Spoiler

At the same time, an Islamabad police official said only leaders of respondent parties would be allowed to enter the court premises with the permission of the SC administration.

He added that lists of leaders had been provided by political parties in this regard. “No rally, procession or gathering will be allowed in the Red Zone, including around the Supreme Court.”

After hearing arguments on the constitution of a full bench from the counsels of the deputy speaker, Hamza, PML-Q and PTI, the court adjourned the hearing for 1.5 hours so the judges could deliberate on the matter.

Former SCBA chief asks for full bench
At the outset of the hearing, the bench called former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Latif Afridi to the rostrum.

The chief justice observed that several former SCBA presidents were present in the courtroom. The ongoing case was directly related to the SC’s interpretation of Article 63-A, he remarked.

Afridi said the country’s current political situation was “very complicated”.

“Our former presidents held a meeting. The SCBA’s petition for review [of the Article 63-A interpretation] is pending adjudication,” he informed the court.

Meanwhile, Afridi pointed out that cases challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to de-seat lawmakers over defection were also being heard.

A full-court bench should be formed to avoid a constitutional crisis, he requested the court. “The crises are deepening. The entire system is at stake.”

He requested the SC to form a full-court bench to hear all the cases together.

The deputy speaker’s lawyer, Irfan Qadir, also requested the court to constitute a full bench. At this, the CJP asked him the grounds on which a full court bench should be constituted.

Qadir requested the bench to read paragraphs one and two of its decision on the presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A, stating that everything would then be clarified.

“We aren’t here to fight,” he added.

‘Difference between political party and parliamentary party’
Article 63-A could not be read individually, Qadir argued. “The party head issues instructions to [members of] a political party.

“Political parties have an important role in parliamentary democracy. The democratic system can be endangered due to the weakness of political parties,” he continued.

Qadir termed defection from party policy a “cancer”.

Justice Ahsan observed that only the members who were part of the assembly were included in the parliamentary party. “There is a difference between political party and parliamentary party,” he remarked.

The judge questioned whether the same person could issue a declaration as well as instructions to the parliamentary party.

He remarked that the Constitution was clear regarding the declaration of defection.

Hamza’s lawyer, Mansoor Awan, informed the court that he had already submitted his client’s statement.

The chief justice asked which part of the SC verdict the deputy speaker referred to in his ruling. “Where is the paragraph on which the deputy speaker relied upon?”

Justice Ahsan also asked the same question to which Hamza’s lawyer replied that as per the SC’s verdict, votes cast against party policy would be rejected.

Justice Ahsan then asked if the party leader could also be the head of the parliamentary party.

Awan told the court that the deputy speaker’s ruling had relied on paragraph three of the SC verdict.

‘Parliamentary party’s authority’
Justice Akhtar observed that Article 63-A had been made part of the Constitution through the 14th Amendment and asked the counsel to present his legal arguments regarding the party head.

Awan responded that the 18th Amendment had further elaborated on Article 63-A. “According to the verdict of [former] justice Sheikh Azmat’s eight-member bench, all the decisions are taken by the party leader,” he said.

However, Justice Akhtar said that there were two rules to cast votes in accordance with the party policy. “Prior to the 18th Amendment, Article 63-A used to refer to the party head’s instruction.

“After the amendment, the party leader was replaced by the parliamentary party,” he observed.

The judge stated that there was ambiguity about the powers of the parliamentary party and the party chief prior to the amendment. “Following the amendment, according to Article 63-A, the parliamentary party was given the authority to issue directions,” Justice Akhtar observed.

Justice Akhtar observed there were rules to declare that a decision was against the Constitution.

Hamza’s lawyer contended that the court’s ruling on Article 63-A was contradictory to its previous decisions and reiterated that a full-court bench should be constituted.

“If a five-member bench feels that the previous decision of the court was incorrect, then a full bench can decide,” Awan said.

‘Party head’s dictatorship’
The chief justice recalled that a senior parliamentarian had informed the court during the hearing on the presidential reference that the party head could also be a ‘dictator’ which is why his role had been reduced and powers given to the parliamentary party instead.

“There are hereditary parties in Pakistan. How can a leader residing abroad issue instructions?” he asked.

Separately, Justice Ahsan observed that the Constitution empowers parliamentary representatives. The parliamentary party decides who to vote for in the assembly, he added.

“We protected the assembly members from the party head’s dictatorship in the presidential reference. Several members complained about the party head’s dictatorship,” Justice Bandial remarked.

“The party head will also have to listen to the opinion of the parliamentary party.”

Awan pointed out that the heads of four political parties were not part of the parliamentary party. “JUI-F is named after its head. Maulana Fazlur Rehman (its chief) is not part of the parliamentary party.

“The party head is answerable to the public, not the parliamentary party head,” he argued.

Justice Ahsan remarked that the party head’s role is very important. “It is the party head who decides to send the declaration against defecting members. The parliamentary party will give instructions on who to vote for and the reference is sent by the party head.”

He further remarked that a political party in essence is the same as its parliamentary party. “Those who are elected to the assembly by the public are the ones with the mandate.”

Justice Ahsan referred to the United Kingdom’s system, in which he said the party head had no role in the parliament.

‘Deputy speaker exceeded court’s interpretation’
Justice Ahsan remarked that the deputy speaker, while accepting the court’s decision as correct, referred to it in his ruling.

The deputy speaker’s lawyer, Irfan Qadir, said Mazari had referred to the verdict to the extent of rejecting the votes.

“This means that to the extent that the votes were rejected, the court’s decision was recognised,” the judge noted, adding that the court’s question was limited to whether the deputy speaker’s interpretation of the verdict was correct.

He also observed that the deputy speaker had “exceeded” the court’s interpretation in his ruling.

ECP verdict
Awan recalled that the ECP had accepted PTI chief Imran Khan’s instructions during the previous election.

Justice Ahsan questioned what connection the electoral body had to the case. However, the chief justice asked Awan to read out the ECP’s verdict.

Awan recalled that during the first election, Imran had issued directives to PTI members to vote for Elahi. When they had not done so, the ECP had de-seated them for not following Imran’s instructions, he told the court.

The counsel also presented a copy of Imran’s directives to the court.

Justice Ahsan remarked that there was a difference in the cases related to the previous election and the recent one. “The position of the MPAs in the ECP was that they had not received any party instructions,” he observed.

But, the judge continued, in the present case, the MPAs were saying that the parliamentary party had decided to vote for Elahi and no one had raised any objection.

The facts in this case and the one related to dissident MPAs were different, Justice Ahsan remarked, reiterating that the dissident lawmakers had said that they did not receive any directives or showcause notices.

“But the issue here is different,” he said. “All the 10 members cast their votes. No one voted for the other side. None of the 10 members said that the parliamentary meeting was not held.”

Awan responded that the party policy was in essence the parliamentary party’s instructions.

Awan pointed out that if the court accepted the appeal of the de-seated MPAs against the ECP’s verdict, the numbers in the assembly would change.

“Hence, it is requested that the cases should be clubbed together and heard by a full bench,” he reiterated.

When the PML-Q president’s counsel, Salahuddin, sought to begin his arguments, the chief justice pointed out that his client had not been made a respondent in the case yet and asked him to furnish arguments on the formation of a full bench.

Salahuddin told the court that his client also wanted a full bench to hear the case.

‘Court’s interpretation unambiguous’
The court then asked PTI’s counsel, Ali Zafar, to argue on the formation of a full bench.

Zafar recalled that Elahi secured 186 votes, while Hamza got 179 votes. “According to Article 130, Parvez Elahi should be the chief minister.”

He argued that the deputy speaker had not mentioned Shujaat’s letter prior to the voting but showed it at the time of the ruling. He then proceeded to read out the ruling.

However, the CJP directed Zafar to give PTI’s reasons against the formation of the full-court bench.

The lawyer responded that Article 63-A was clear. “The head of the party has to issue the declaration in accordance with the parliamentary party’s instructions.

“The court has already issued its detailed interpretation on Article 63-A after several hearings earlier,” he said, emphasising that accepting the instructions of the parliamentary party was part of democracy.

Zafar said that even those who object to the instructions issued during the party meeting were bound by the party’s decision.

“There is no place in the Constitution for dictatorship by a political party’s head,” he argued, adding that Article 63-A and its judicial interpretation were very clear and unambiguous in this regard.

The decision to form a full bench lay with the chief justice, Zafar said. “In 15 previous cases, the chief justice refused to form full courts,” he said.

“The court has to stop hearing other [cases] if a full bench is formed. Should the court stop all other work to hear one case?”

Furthermore, Zafar argued that the government wanted Hamza to stay “temporary CM” for as long as possible.

“The court had wrapped up the no-confidence vote case in four days. Clubbing other cases with this one will just waste time,” he said.

The lawyer also stated that linking the case with the appeals of dissident lawmakers would be unfair, stressing that a quick decision was important to counter the crisis in the province.

“The review petitions can only be heard by a five-member bench,” he said, adding that the nation had complete trust in the court.

Subsequently, the bench adjourned the hearing for 1.5 hours.

In the last hearing on Saturday, the court had summoned the deputy speaker but his lawyer had come in his place. The SC had also issued notices to Hamza, Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf, Punjab Advocate General Shahzad Shaukat and the province’s chief secretary.

It ruled that Hamza should work as per the Constitution and law during the time period. “As the chief minister, Hamza Shehbaz will not use his powers for political gains,” it stressed.

Separately, at one point during the hearing, Justice Bandial remarked that prime facie, the deputy speaker’s ruling was against the apex court’s verdict in the Article 63-A reference.

Read: Key takeaways from SC’s order on Elahi’s plea on Punjab CM election

Hamza’s statement
Separately, Hamza’s lawyers submitted a concise statement on his behalf today, which noted that the votes of PML-Q MPAs in Elahi’s favour were disregarded on the basis of party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s letter.

It also referred to the previous chief minister’s election, held on April 16, in which the PTI had issued similar instructions to its lawmakers. The 25 lawmakers, who had not voted in line with the party’s instructions, had been disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and their appeals were pending adjudication, it added.

“This honourable court has held that the party head enjoys a central and decisive role within the party, in the electoral process and in the parliament through parliamentary party which he directly controls and superintends … he has the direct power, influence and control over how the party shall act and function within and outside parliament.”

The statement said that the PTI’s instructions ahead of the first chief minister’s election, which were upheld by the ECP, and the SC’s judgement had formed the basis for the deputy speaker’s ruling.

The Supreme Court had not yet determined the validity of the ECP’s decision, which, combined with Article 63-A (related to disqualification of lawmakers over defection), “justified” the deputy speaker’s ruling, it said.

The statement further noted that if the apex court sets aside the ECP’s decision to disqualify the 25 MPAs, “the effect of that would be the declaration of defection given by party head of PTI dated 18.04.2022 would also be set at naught.

“As a consequence, the 25 votes would not stand excluded from the votes polled to [Hamza] in the first poll held on 16.04.2022. Resultantly, [Hamza], who had received 197 votes (more than 186 required in the first poll i.e. majority of total membership of the provincial assembly of Punjab), would be the duly elected chief minister, Punjab and the consequent second poll dated 22.07.2022 would be disregarded.”

The statement requested the court to constitute a full bench to hear together Elahi’s petition, the petition seeking a review of the SC’s interpretation of Article 63-A and appeals against the ECP’s decisions.

It also requested the court to dismiss Elahi’s petition.

PML-Q, PPP and JUI-F file petitions
Earlier today, the PPP, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and PML-Q filed separate petitions requesting the apex court to allow them to become parties in the case.

A petition filed on behalf of the PML-Q and its head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain stated that instructions had been issued to all MPAs to vote in Hamza’s favour and a letter in this regard had also been sent to the deputy speaker.

Contrary to the orders, the MPAs had cast votes in Elahi’s favour which were disregarded by the deputy speaker, it noted.

“The petitioner (Elahi) has filed the instant petition challenging the ruling of the deputy speaker Punjab Assembly but has, for reasons best known to him, not impleaded the interveners who are the most important and necessary parties.”

In its petition, the JUI-F stated that the SC’s decision to summon Deputy Speaker Mazari “which was unprecedented and demeaning” to the office he holds.

“To curtail the powers of a constitutional office of chief minister through an interim order and that too without a constitutional or legal backing, will set a bad precedent for the constitutional courts and further deteriorate harmony among institutions.”

The petition also requested the apex court to constitute a full bench to hear the petition.

Separately, the PPP stated in its petition that since seven of its MPAs had voted for Hamza in the re-election, the party would be affected by the court’s decision on the petition and thus, should be allowed to become a respondent in the case.

“Refusing to hear the applicant would be oppressive to judicial conscience and would cause a perpetuity of injustice which would not be tolerated by a just judicial system.”

The election
During the election on Friday, Mazari rejected all 10 votes cast by the PML-Q on the pretext that they had violated the orders of their party chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, citing a letter he received from the patriarch which said he was asking his party lawmakers to back Hamza.

After counting the polled votes, the deputy speaker announced that Elahi bagged 186 votes, while Hamza could get 179 votes. However, he refrained from declaring Elahi the chief minister.

Instead, he indicated that as party chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s instructions to PML-Q members to vote for Hamza instead of Elahi held greater sway.

The deputy speaker then announced that Hamza had won the election of chief minister, since the 10 deducted votes reduced Elahi’s tally to 176, while Hamza remained on top with 179.

Elahi’s plea
In his petition, Elahi has requested the court to hold the deputy speaker’s ruling leading to Hamza’s re-election as “bogus and false”.

“Hamza Shehbaz may kindly be declared disqualified as the Punjab chief minister/ member of the provincial assembly,” the petition read.

It requested the court to declare the deputy speaker’s decision to discard the votes of 10 PML-Q lawmakers on grounds of Article 63-A of the Constitution as “unconstitutional”.

Instead, the petition said, the court may declare Elahi the “lawful returned candidate” and the PML-Q leader be allowed to take oath as the Punjab chief minister.

The petition further stated that Hamza should be restrained from taking the oath as the chief minister. It is pertinent to mention that Hamza had already been administered the oath of office by Punjab Governor Baleeghur Rehman earlier on Friday.

DAWN

 

[Bewal Express]

This should have taken 10min to decide but the SC is so scared of the mafia and Bajwa that it will stretch it out.

 

[MenInG]

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Monday decided against ruling on the coalition government’s request to form a full court bench on petitions related to the recently held Punjab chief minister’s re-election — included a review of its interpretation of Article 63-A — saying that the court will have to hear more arguments before it takes a decision in this regard.

Justice Bandial made the remarks during the hearing of a petition filed by PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi challenging Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari’s decision in the chief minister’s re-election last week, which led to Hamza Shehbaz’s victory.

During the re-election, Mazari had decided against counting the votes of 10 PML-Q lawmakers, which were cast in Elahi’s favour, citing a letter written by PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in which he had instructed them to vote for Hamza instead.

A three-member bench, comprising Justices Bandial, Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar are hearing the petition. During the previous hearing on Saturday, they had allowed Hamza — who was re-elected on July 22 — to remain “trustee” chief minister till Monday (today).

After an hours-long hearing, when the court took a break to deliberate and subsequently resumed, it was anticipated that a decision on the request for full bench would be announced. However, that was not the case as the CJP remarked: “We have to see the Constitution [further].”

“Article 63-A has a long journey,” he added.

Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar told the bench that arguments on Article 63-A’s review had still not begun. “This is a grave matter. This is a province of 12 billion [people].”

The chief justice reminded the law minister that it was a five-member bench that had “sent the [previous] prime minister home”, referring to the court’s unanimous verdict in March that had restored the National Assembly as well as the no-trust move against Imran Khan, which eventually led to his ouster.

With the federal government, in its statements outside the court, threatening to boycott the case if a full bench was not formed, the chief justice said: “If the incumbent government is not accepting the Supreme Court’s [supremacy] then it is a grave [concern].”

The minister said that forming a full court would increase the judicial credibility of the court.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s lawyer Irfan Qadir referred to Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s case, which he said was heard by 10 judges. “That was the matter of a judge. This is the matter of an entire province.”

“I am not saying that the [bench’s] neutrality is in question,” he clarified, adding that if a full court was constituted, “the respect and confidence in court” would increase.

“There is an impression that [certain] cases go to the same bench,” he added.

“A full court bench is constituted in serious matters,” the top judge replied.

Dawn

 

[MenInG]

The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the government’s petition for formation of a full court bench to hear the case of the Punjab chief minister’s (CM) election, ARY News reported on Monday.

A three-member apex court bench, comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, heard the plea filed by PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi challenging Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari’s ruling in CM Punjab election.

Pervaiz Elahi secured 186 votes against 179 votes of PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz. However, Mazari had dismissed PML-Q’s 10 votes after party head Chaudhry Shujaat asked them to vote in favour of incumbent chief minister Hamza Shahbaz.

 

[Manager101]

Saad Rafique using abusive signs (the middle finger gesture).

This has to be contempt of court.

Pathetic stuff.

 

[JaDed]

View attachment 116601

Saad Rafique using abusive signs (the middle finger gesture).

This has to be contempt of court.

Pathetic stuff.

Pinned it too )

 

[MenInG]

Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari on Sunday issued detailed reasons for rejecting 10 Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) votes which paved the way for Hamza Shehbaz to retain the post of the provincial chief minister during the elections held on July 22 (Friday).

In the two-page written reasons – a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the deputy speaker referred to SC's May 17 as well as ECP’s May 20 orders wherein 25 MPAs were de-seated by the latter on the directions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan.

"I have also considered the contents of directions of the party head of the PTI, which formed the basis of de-seating of 25 members and exclusion of their votes from the tally of vote count of April 16," the deputy speaker said.

“Based on the judgment of the Supreme Court, various petitions were filed before the Lahore High Court. A five-member LHC bench decided the petitions vide order dated June 30 and directed to exclude the votes of 25 members who violated the directions and voted in favour of Hamza.

“Consequently, today’s election was held between Hamza and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who were the contesting candidates in the elections previously held on April 16. As per the results in terms of the procedure laid down in the Second Schedule, Hamza polled 179 votes whereas Elahi received 186 votes.”

He said that he received directions issued by Chaudhary Shujaat Hussian to PML-Q MPAs to vote in favour of Hamza.

“Considering the events, material, orders/judgments of the courts, I am of the opinion that the votes of members of the provincial assembly of the Punjab, belonging to the PML-Q, are in violation of the directions of the party head, therefore these votes are liable to be excluded from the final count of the votes in view of the judgments of the Supreme Court, LHC and ECP.”

The deputy speaker also quoted a relevant part of the order passed by the ECP in this regard.

“Keeping in view the above, we are of the view that the casting of votes by the respondent in favour of opposing candidates is a serious issue and worst form of betraying the electorate and party’s policy. Therefore, we hold that the defection in the subject cases shall not depend upon strict proof of observations of pre-requisites as provided in Article 63A.”

Mazari said that the decision of the ECP to uphold the declaration was based on the violation of directions issued by Imran Khan and communicated to the members by PTI Secretary Asad Umar. The decision shows that directions could be issued by party head which was upheld by the ECP, the detailed ruling said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz demanded of the Supreme Court to constitute a full court to decide the fate of Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling wherein votes of 10 Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) MPAs were rejected.

Hamza will submit a concise statement in the apex court through his counsel Mansoor Usman Awan today (Monday).

A three-judge special bench of the apex court led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar will resume the hearing on PTI candidate Elahi’s plea against the deputy speaker’s ruling.

The draft of CM Hamza’s concise statement is available with The Express Tribune.

The statement says that the review petition against the SC majority judgment on the interpretation of Article 63A of the Constitution as well as appeal against the ECP’s decision regarding the de-seating of 25 MPAs should be heard along with this matter.

Hamza says a full court should be constituted to hear matters related to interpretation of Article 63A of the Constitution.

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that all parties in the government coalition have unanimously decided to boycott court proceedings if their demand to form a full court bench is not met in the case related to the recently held Punjab chief minister’s election.

"All the political parties have requested the honourable Supreme Court to constitute a full court bench on the issue of the election of the Punjab chief minister... it will increase the respect of the court," he said while speaking to the media outside the apex court alongside Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar.

Spoiler

The minister said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had de-seated 25 PTI members for disobeying the instructions of party head Imran Khan.

"Only the formation of a larger bench could resolve the controversy in the current scenario," he added.

Sanaullah said all political parties and the entire nation have complete confidence in the full court and even the Supreme Court Bar Association has filed a review petition for becoming a party to the presidential reference case regarding interpretation of Article 63 of the Constitution which had been admitted for hearing.

Read: Ruling coalition seething over SC ruling on Hamza's 'trustee CM' status

"We plead that the apex court may take up the identical petitions for hearing in the full bench," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Azam Nazir Tarar said that presidents of Supreme Court Bar Association were also present during today’s proceedings, saying that they had also said that forming the full court bench will increase the respect for the top court.

Tarar said that when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced, a petition was filed against the decision, however, the full court bench in 2015 had said that it was the right of the party chief.

He said that only the head of a political party was the authority to declare the party policy in accordance with the previous judgements of the apex court.

Tarar said that all the ambiguity in the matter would be removed with the constitution of a full SC bench.

The minister said that it had been stated that a party’s chief was a strong voice of the concerned political party who decides party tickets, voting in the house and even he could suspend the party membership of anyone.

He said that they would only accept the judgement of the full court bench on the matter.

Earlier in the day, the bench reserved its judgment on the formation of a full bench while hearing a petition by Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi against the reelection of Hamza Shehbaz as the chief minister of Punjab. Elahi was also the candidate for the chief minister’s slot.

Elahi secured 186 votes against 179 votes of PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz. However, Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari rejected 10 votes of the PML-Q lawmakers on the basis of a letter from party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who said that his party did not support Elahi.

In a joint conference earlier in the day, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman along with other leaders of the ruling coalition demanded a full bench to preside over Elahi’s petition against the election of Punjab chief minister.

The allied parties hardened their stance against what Maryam Nawaz has termed as “bench-fixing” – expressing strong reservations over the bench composition in the crucial constitutional case.

“Our justice system is such that when a petition is filed, people already know what bench will be constituted and the decision that will be given,” Maryam had said.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/236774...tt-court-proceedings-if-full-bench-not-formed

 

[Bewal Express]

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that all parties in the government coalition have unanimously decided to boycott court proceedings if their demand to form a full court bench is not met in the case related to the recently held Punjab chief minister’s election.

"All the political parties have requested the honourable Supreme Court to constitute a full court bench on the issue of the election of the Punjab chief minister... it will increase the respect of the court," he said while speaking to the media outside the apex court alongside Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar.

Spoiler

The minister said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had de-seated 25 PTI members for disobeying the instructions of party head Imran Khan.

"Only the formation of a larger bench could resolve the controversy in the current scenario," he added.

Sanaullah said all political parties and the entire nation have complete confidence in the full court and even the Supreme Court Bar Association has filed a review petition for becoming a party to the presidential reference case regarding interpretation of Article 63 of the Constitution which had been admitted for hearing.

Read: Ruling coalition seething over SC ruling on Hamza's 'trustee CM' status

"We plead that the apex court may take up the identical petitions for hearing in the full bench," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Azam Nazir Tarar said that presidents of Supreme Court Bar Association were also present during today’s proceedings, saying that they had also said that forming the full court bench will increase the respect for the top court.

Tarar said that when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced, a petition was filed against the decision, however, the full court bench in 2015 had said that it was the right of the party chief.

He said that only the head of a political party was the authority to declare the party policy in accordance with the previous judgements of the apex court.

Tarar said that all the ambiguity in the matter would be removed with the constitution of a full SC bench.

The minister said that it had been stated that a party’s chief was a strong voice of the concerned political party who decides party tickets, voting in the house and even he could suspend the party membership of anyone.

He said that they would only accept the judgement of the full court bench on the matter.

Earlier in the day, the bench reserved its judgment on the formation of a full bench while hearing a petition by Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi against the reelection of Hamza Shehbaz as the chief minister of Punjab. Elahi was also the candidate for the chief minister’s slot.

Elahi secured 186 votes against 179 votes of PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz. However, Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari rejected 10 votes of the PML-Q lawmakers on the basis of a letter from party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who said that his party did not support Elahi.

In a joint conference earlier in the day, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman along with other leaders of the ruling coalition demanded a full bench to preside over Elahi’s petition against the election of Punjab chief minister.

The allied parties hardened their stance against what Maryam Nawaz has termed as “bench-fixing” – expressing strong reservations over the bench composition in the crucial constitutional case.

“Our justice system is such that when a petition is filed, people already know what bench will be constituted and the decision that will be given,” Maryam had said.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/236774...tt-court-proceedings-if-full-bench-not-formed

So if I am on a murder charge, I can boycott the trial if the judge doesn't do as I say. Rana the idiot

 

[insurge]

The whole "gracious in defeat" thing sure lasted long.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: In a late-night press conference following the Supreme Court’s refusal to constitute a full court to hear the plea against the Punjab chief minister’s election, the ruling coalition announced a boycott of the proceedings.

Leaders of the ruling parties, who termed the SC decision “unacceptable”, joined heads at the Prime Minister Office to chalk out their future line of action. The late-night meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Addressing the press conference after the meeting on Monday night, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said any verdict announced by the three-judge bench hearing the case would be considered partial. Rejecting the apex court’s refusal to a full court, he said the government would not appear before this bench.

Spoiler

“The government wants no interference in its affairs and seeks a continuation of its policies for which it will also suggest parliament legislate to ensure respect to the people and judiciary’s verdicts.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the case at hand would be a test for the SC. “Justice demands that if a question has been raised over a bench or judge, they should recuse themselves. This is supremacy of the law. It is for this bench to decide how their conduct will go down in history.”

Federal ministers Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Ahsan Iqbal and allied party leaders also spoke on the occasion.

In a tweet, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz claimed that people now knew decisions in the country were made over personal likes and dislikes.

Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, speaking outside the Supreme Court building, had hinted that the ruling coalition would boycott the case proceedings if a full court wasn’t formed.

Resuming the hearing of the government’s appeal for the last time after multiple breaks late at night, the court rejected the plea to constitute a full court, and adjourned the hearing till Tuesday morning (today).

Earlier in the morning, coming down hard on the judiciary and questioning its impartiality, all parties of the coalition government banded together and expressed ‘no confidence’ on the three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial hearing a plea against the election of Hamza Shehbaz as the chief minister, and reiterated their demand for a full court to decide the case.

In the high-profile press conference held at the PM Office, the top leadership of all parties in the coalition government said they won’t acknowledge any decision announced by the three-member bench, which they alleged was inclined towards the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and ‘favouring’ the party, but were ready to accept the decision of a full court.

Kicking off the press conference, PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz said there were many respected judges in the apex court, and questioned why they were not hearing cases. “One or two judges, who have always been anti-PML-N and anti-government, are repeatedly included in benches,” she remarked, adding that “bench-fixing is as big a crime as is match-fixing”.

She alleged that court decisions were favouring the PTI despite the fact that it consistently mocked the judicial system. She questioned the state of justice in the country where decisions were handed out in favour of those who “abuse and bully institutions” the most.

Ms Nawaz also cited several examples of the PML-N leadership’s legal woes, claiming its leaders were being discriminated against. About her cousin, Hamza Shehbaz, being asked to carry on as the CM with limited powers, she asked: “Have you ever heard of a trustee chief minister?” Since the day Hamza was elected, he was not allowed to work. “He has been shuttling between parliament and courts. What kind of justice is this?”

Mentioning the April 16 election for the Punjab CM, the firebrand PML-N leader said 25 provincial lawmakers were de-seated by the court on a petition of the PTI for voting for Hamza. “Ninety-five per cent independent jurists said it was tantamount to rewriting the Constitution... 25 PML-N members were added to the PTI tally… the PML-N votes were deducted and the PTI’s increased.”

Answering a question as to why no action was being taken against former premier Imran Khan despite the ruling parties leveling so many allegations against him, and the status of the cabinet committee formed to try PTI leaders under Article 6, Ms Nawaz said they could only do something once they were done facing the many court cases against them.

‘Constitution can’t be altered over pressure’

Foreign Minister and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asserted that only three people could not decide the country’s fate, or whether this country would be run through a “democratic system, an elected system or a selected system”.

“Certain powers are unable to digest that Pakistan is moving towards democracy and people are making their own decisions,” he commented, without mentioning whom he was pointing at.

“It has been three months (since Khan’s ouster as the premier) and some powers, people, political parties and conspirators are unable to tolerate… a campaign is being run to keep Imran Khan at the forefront,” Mr Bhutto-Zardari alleged, adding that the campaign was a conspiracy against the country’s economic progress and democratic journey.

“We did not let any conspiracy succeed in the past and we will not let it happen now. We want institutions to remain uncontroversial and function within the ambit of the Constitution.”

He stressed the Constitution could not be altered due to any pressure exerted by the PTI chief.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl said fingers were being pointed at the judiciary. “The coalition government wants to strengthen the judiciary so their decisions speak for themselves. They shouldn’t have any conflict or give the impression of being biased,” he suggested.

Supremacy of law demanded

Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Usama Qadri said the institutions should respect the wishes of citizens. He further said all the political parties were united on major political issues facing the country. “We want supremacy of the law and strengthening of democratic institutions. We are against any unconstitutional move, considering it against the people’s wishes.”

Jamhoori Watan Party leader and Minister for Narcotics Control Shahzain Bugti, joining the presser via a video link, called the full court a need of the hour to avoid any controversy at such a critical juncture.

Parliamentary leader’s powers

Awami National Party leader Aimal Wali Khan said all the state institutions should work under the ambit of the Constitution otherwise it would create chaos in the country.

“If a party president has no power then there is no use of his position and the parliamentary leader should be given his powers,” he asserted, maintaining, “the parliamentary leader is answerable to the party president”.

Regarding reports of the SC barring political parties’ leaders from entering its premises during the hearing, Muhammad Aslam Bhootani, an independent MNA from Balochistan, said: “We should all go there (SC) and confirm the veracity of the order.”

Balochistan National Party-Mengal MNA Agha Hassan Baloch called the ban regrettable.

Grand jirga

Balochistan Awami Party MNA Khalid Magsi suggested all stakeholders call a grand jirga to decide the country’s future as “we have failed to put Pakistan on the right track”. He said the Punjab CM’s election had caused uncertainty in Pakistan. “The country seems to be working like a tribal system.”

Independent MNA Mohsin Dawar said a country could not function without the supremacy of law. The only binding document, he added, was the Constitution that kept the entire nation unified. He said since Nawaz Sharif’s ouster over an iqama in 2017, it was no surprise how the judiciary had been making selective decisions, adding the missing persons cases were pending for years. “Our colleague Ali Wazir’s case best defines the judiciary. Every time he is produced in courts, either a judge goes on leave or is sent to another bench. If he gets bail in one case, another is instituted against him,” he added.

Commenting on the reports of ban on entry of ruling party leaders to the apex court, he said the judges’ mala fide and their intentions were evident from such decisions.

Other senior leaders of the ruling alliance present on the occasion included federal ministers Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Sherry Rehman, Khurram Dastgir, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Asad Mehmood, and PM’s Adviser Amir Muqam.

Coverage disruption

The live telecast of the press conference through the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) was disrupted for a few minutes, sparking another controversy whether it was a bid to ‘censor’ the scathing statements of Maryam Nawaz. However, a senior PTV official told Dawn the disturbance was caused by the thunderstorm in the federal capital.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2022

 

[MenInG]

At a time when his party leaders and lawyers were busy at the Supreme Court (SC), ******tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday shared a video clip purported to be about the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N) “attack” on the top court in 1997.

“This video says it all about the Sharif mafia. Those who can’t be bribed must then be eliminated,” he tweeted with the video news report about the PML-N’s alleged attack on then chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah’s court.

On the other hand, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a news conference at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House here, demanded the names of Pakistan Demo*cratic Movement (PDM) leaders be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) for what he called blackmailing the apex court to pressurise it.

Spoiler

Reacting to the press conference of the ruling coalition leaders, he said the “gang of thieves” had launched a direct attack on the Supreme Court. After the judiciary, he claimed, the PML-N would initiate a campaign against some army officers to pressurise both institutions, as 531 registered accounts had been allegedly used in the anti-judiciary campaign online.

Mr Chaudhry lamented that despite being on bail, a woman (in reference to Maryam Nawaz) continued to hold press conferences against the judiciary, and that too in the PM House.

Lashing out at PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, he said the entire Sindh became a dam whenever it rained, but the former president was focused on salvaging the Punjab government by spending Sindh’s money.

Regarding Zardari’s departure to Dubai, the former minister claimed he had fled the country knowing the incumbent government was going to last just a few days, adding that all the “crooks” could try to escape anytime, hence their names should be added to the ECL. He further said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari should be reminded that his mother Benazir had been a victim of the PML-N’s tyranny and oppression her entire life.

Commenting on Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s tone and attitude during the ruling leadership’s press conference, Fawad questioned how many seats he held in Punjab. All these 11 parties together had been defeated by Imran Khan (in the Punjab by-polls), and they should have resigned if they had any shame, he remarked.

The PTI leader said the way things had been going for sometime, it showed the establishment was not neutral, adding Mr Khan had saved Pakistan from becoming Sri Lanka. He demanded a full court be constituted regarding the media cell allegedly working under the leadership of PM’s adviser Fahd Hussain.

Meanwhile, PTI Sindh President Ali Haider Zaidi also shared the same video clip as his party chief, calling it “one of the most shameful moments of #BlackmailerLeague’s politics”. He alleged the PML-N had stooped to all the way down to attacking the apex court physically as they got too used to “marzi ke faislay”.

In a statement, he said Pakistan was once more at a crossroads and now all eyes were on the SC, as the “crooked N-league” had resorted to their old tricks and once again started attacking the SC, so far not physically but through massive verbal abuse on TV and social media.

The PTI leader maintained people were upset, as they had been constantly lied to and their belief in the system was at an all-time low.

Dr Shahbaz Gill of the PTI asked on social media why not even a single government lawyer argued that the ruling of the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker was correct.

Former PTI minister Hammad Azhar also asked why Hamza Shehbaz was the chief minister for three months.

“Hamza Shahbaz has remained CM of Punjab since last 3 months despite never been elected by the majority in the house. The 12 parties are so petrified of Imran Khan that they are shamelessly and repeatedly insulting the public mandate. For how long?” he tweeted.

Another PTI leader, Farrukh Habib, also asked, in a tweet, in which capacity Maryam Nawaz had held a press conference in an auditorium of the PM Secretariat.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2022

 

[daytrader]

SC resumes hearing on Punjab CM re-election
Three-member bench to continue hearing petitions

ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday resumed the hearing petitions related to the recently held election for the coveted post of Punjab chief minister, a day after it rejected the coalition government's request for the formation of a full court.

The proceedings began at 11:30 am, with the coalition boycotting the SC proceedings.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial will hear the petitions.

Political bigwigs including PTI’s Babar Awan, Fawad Chaudhry, Shibli Faraz, Azam Swati and Faisal Javed; PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi and PPP’s Farooq H Naek have reached the apex court for the hearing.

Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari’s counsel, Irfan Qadir, came on the rostrum where he stated that he was told to not be a part of the proceedings.

“I will not be a part of further proceedings”, he maintained.

Qadir stated that he would file a revision against the order rejecting the petition requesting the formation of a full five-member bench, to which the chief justice replied that the court had decided that there was no need for a full court to hear the case.

“Arguments were made in the court regarding the compliance of the party leader’s instructions,” the Chief Justice of Pakistan said, adding that the lawyers for the parties were told that the Constitution did not allow for obstruction of governance.

Justice Bandial maintained that the request for the formation of the full court was nothing more than delaying the case and apex court judges were not available before the second week of September.

He further maintained that he would prefer to complete the case soon for the sake of governance and crisis resolution.

“Bringing the case before the complete bench is tantamount to subjecting the case to unnecessary adjournment”, the CJ said, reiterating that the matter would have been delayed to September as members of the court were on vacation.

PPP leader Farooq Naek also appeared on the rostrum and stated that his party would also not appear in court.

The chief justice, however, told Naek that he had done well in assisting the court on Monday and permitted him to take his seat. Justice Bandial added that the PPP was not made a party in the case.

Earlier, the apex court had rejected the coalition government’s request for the formation of a full court to hear Elahi's petition against the provincial chief minister's election.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, heard the petition filed by Elahi, who is also a candidate for the CM's office, against the ruling of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari over the fate of PML-Q votes in the Punjab CM's election.

Mazari, in his ruling, had rejected 10 votes of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid's (PML-Q) members relying upon the Supreme Court's verdict that votes of those lawmakers, who defied the party leadership's instructions, would not be counted.

Express Tribune

 

[daytrader]

No legal justification presented for full court in Punjab CM election case: CJP Bandial
Lawyers representing PPP, Dost Mazari tell court that they are boycotting Punjab CM election case proceedings

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday remarked that the lawyers representing the ruling coalition did not present any legal justification for the formation of a full court bench to hear the petition filed by PML-Q against the ruling of the Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari that paved the way for Hamza Shahbaz to retain his post of the chief minister of the province.

The apex court’s three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — resumed the hearing of the case.

At the outset of today, hearing, CJP Bandial said that the constitution's Article 63 (A) clearly states that the parliamentary party gives directions to the lawmakers — and the formation of a full court was nothing more than "delaying the case".

"The formation of a full court and then hearing of the case could have been delayed till September as judges are on leaves."

During the course of the proceedings, Deputy Speaker Mazari's counsel, Irfan Qadir, told the bench that his client has directed him to not be a part of the proceedings.

Qadir told the SC that he would challenge the apex court's decision on the formation of the full court to hear the PML-Q petition.

Following Qadir, PPP lawyer Farooq H Naek came to the rostrum and informed the CJP that he would not be part of the proceedings.

At this, the CJP told him that he "is not a party in the case".

The CJP said that "no legal" grounds were presented before the court; arguments were presented only regarding the party head's directions; the court arrived at the conclusion that in the current case, there was no need for the full bench.

CJP Bandial said the real question was who can give directions to the party lawmakers. The constitution clearly states that the parliamentary party will give directions to the MPs.

"There is no need for further arguments in this case. We will give priority to wrapping up this case as soon as possible," he said.

‘Govt flees as it does not have arguments’

Minutes before the proceedings of the case began, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the government preferred to run away from the case as they do not have arguments in support of their claim.

Criticising the ruling coalition, Fawad said, “The government does not recognise the Supreme Court of Pakistan”.

Hailing the SC’s decision on the demand for a full court bench on the Punjab CM election case, the PTI leader said, “Such cases are heard only by senior judges across the world.”

Following the by-elections’ results, Hamza Shahbaz should have tendered his resignation as Punjab CM, he said, adding that they should have corrected their mistakes.

The ex-information minister said that democracy thrives when the person who has lost accepts his defeat as he slammed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for its unacceptable attitude towards the apex court.

"The PDM should accept the people's decision. This case shouldn't have come here; the SC should not be politically burdened," he said.

Fawad said that the CJP should not be burdened and that the judiciary should be allowed to function independently.

Full court plea rejected
A day earlier, the SC rejected the pleas to form a full court bench on petitions related to the Punjab chief minister’s re-election.

The request for the full bench was made by the ruling alliance during the hearing of the petition filed by PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi challenging Dost Mohammad Mazari’s ruling rejecting votes of 10 PML-Q members cast in his favour and announcing Hamza Shehbaz as CM-elect on July 22.

During the course of the proceedings, Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that they had reduced the burden of pending cases. The SC judges were reducing the backlog of cases with hard work and dedication, and were hearing the cases sitting in different registries.

He said the court gave an opportunity to all parties in the case to present their arguments.

The top judge said there was a direction by the party head in the instant case and the only point to be seen was whether the party head could overrule the parliamentary party’s decision or not. A parliamentary party represented the common people in the assembly, he noted.

Ruling coalition announces to boycott
Following the SC’s decision to continue the hearing on the Punjab chief minister's election with the current three-member bench, the ruling coalition decided to boycott the hearing scheduled to be held today.

Addressing a press conference at the Prime Minister’s House, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said if the SC doesn’t form a full court, “then we [PDM] will also reject all decisions of the judiciary as we will not appear before this three-member bench.”

“We boycott the proceedings of the apex court,” Fazl announced, adding that the coalition government doesn't want any institution to interfere in its matters.

Fazl, who is also the chief of the PDM, said that the counsellors of the government's alliance advised the jury according to the Constitution. "The top court, however, considered our demand impartially and rejected our petition.”

‘Fear of contradiction'
Earlier, taking to her Twitter account in reaction to the SC's verdict, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz stated that there was only one reason for not forming a full court — “fear”.

“Fear of the contradiction of its own decision,” the PML-N's stalwart wrote.

Saying that she was “almost sure” that a full court will not be formed, Maryam added that when decisions aren’t taken in accordance with the Constitution, law, and justice, then the formation of a full court is "deemed dangerous."

The News PK

 

[Bewal Express]

No legal justification presented for full court in Punjab CM election case: CJP Bandial
Lawyers representing PPP, Dost Mazari tell court that they are boycotting Punjab CM election case proceedings

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday remarked that the lawyers representing the ruling coalition did not present any legal justification for the formation of a full court bench to hear the petition filed by PML-Q against the ruling of the Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari that paved the way for Hamza Shahbaz to retain his post of the chief minister of the province.

The apex court’s three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — resumed the hearing of the case.

At the outset of today, hearing, CJP Bandial said that the constitution's Article 63 (A) clearly states that the parliamentary party gives directions to the lawmakers — and the formation of a full court was nothing more than "delaying the case".

"The formation of a full court and then hearing of the case could have been delayed till September as judges are on leaves."

During the course of the proceedings, Deputy Speaker Mazari's counsel, Irfan Qadir, told the bench that his client has directed him to not be a part of the proceedings.

Qadir told the SC that he would challenge the apex court's decision on the formation of the full court to hear the PML-Q petition.

Following Qadir, PPP lawyer Farooq H Naek came to the rostrum and informed the CJP that he would not be part of the proceedings.

At this, the CJP told him that he "is not a party in the case".

The CJP said that "no legal" grounds were presented before the court; arguments were presented only regarding the party head's directions; the court arrived at the conclusion that in the current case, there was no need for the full bench.

CJP Bandial said the real question was who can give directions to the party lawmakers. The constitution clearly states that the parliamentary party will give directions to the MPs.

"There is no need for further arguments in this case. We will give priority to wrapping up this case as soon as possible," he said.

‘Govt flees as it does not have arguments’

Minutes before the proceedings of the case began, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the government preferred to run away from the case as they do not have arguments in support of their claim.

Criticising the ruling coalition, Fawad said, “The government does not recognise the Supreme Court of Pakistan”.

Hailing the SC’s decision on the demand for a full court bench on the Punjab CM election case, the PTI leader said, “Such cases are heard only by senior judges across the world.”

Following the by-elections’ results, Hamza Shahbaz should have tendered his resignation as Punjab CM, he said, adding that they should have corrected their mistakes.

The ex-information minister said that democracy thrives when the person who has lost accepts his defeat as he slammed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for its unacceptable attitude towards the apex court.

"The PDM should accept the people's decision. This case shouldn't have come here; the SC should not be politically burdened," he said.

Fawad said that the CJP should not be burdened and that the judiciary should be allowed to function independently.

Full court plea rejected
A day earlier, the SC rejected the pleas to form a full court bench on petitions related to the Punjab chief minister’s re-election.

The request for the full bench was made by the ruling alliance during the hearing of the petition filed by PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi challenging Dost Mohammad Mazari’s ruling rejecting votes of 10 PML-Q members cast in his favour and announcing Hamza Shehbaz as CM-elect on July 22.

During the course of the proceedings, Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that they had reduced the burden of pending cases. The SC judges were reducing the backlog of cases with hard work and dedication, and were hearing the cases sitting in different registries.

He said the court gave an opportunity to all parties in the case to present their arguments.

The top judge said there was a direction by the party head in the instant case and the only point to be seen was whether the party head could overrule the parliamentary party’s decision or not. A parliamentary party represented the common people in the assembly, he noted.

Ruling coalition announces to boycott
Following the SC’s decision to continue the hearing on the Punjab chief minister's election with the current three-member bench, the ruling coalition decided to boycott the hearing scheduled to be held today.

Addressing a press conference at the Prime Minister’s House, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said if the SC doesn’t form a full court, “then we [PDM] will also reject all decisions of the judiciary as we will not appear before this three-member bench.”

“We boycott the proceedings of the apex court,” Fazl announced, adding that the coalition government doesn't want any institution to interfere in its matters.

Fazl, who is also the chief of the PDM, said that the counsellors of the government's alliance advised the jury according to the Constitution. "The top court, however, considered our demand impartially and rejected our petition.”

‘Fear of contradiction'
Earlier, taking to her Twitter account in reaction to the SC's verdict, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz stated that there was only one reason for not forming a full court — “fear”.

“Fear of the contradiction of its own decision,” the PML-N's stalwart wrote.

Saying that she was “almost sure” that a full court will not be formed, Maryam added that when decisions aren’t taken in accordance with the Constitution, law, and justice, then the formation of a full court is "deemed dangerous."

The News PK

This a total humiliation for the mafia in front of friendly judges who refused to charge them with contempt. The SC refused to give a ruling on Article 63 a for nearly 2 months when it should have taken a week. They wanted to hear from Dost Mazari but not from Qasim Suri, and because of the failure of the SC to rule on 63 a, IK lost power. The SC has no respect from anyone. But they are right on this

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday said that the court will announce the verdict in the Punjab chief minister election case at 5:45pm today.

The CJP said this after the arguments were completed by the petitioner.

The PML-Q had filed a petition on Saturday against the ruling of the Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari that paved the way for Hamza Shahbaz to retain his post of the chief minister of the province.

The apex court’s three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — heard the case.

At the outset of today, hearing, CJP Bandial said that the constitution's Article 63 (A) clearly states that the parliamentary party gives directions to the lawmakers — and the formation of a full court was nothing more than "delaying the case".

"The formation of a full court and then hearing of the case could have been delayed till September as judges are on leaves."

During the course of the proceedings, Deputy Speaker Mazari's counsel, Irfan Qadir, told the bench that his client has directed him to not be a part of the proceedings.

Qadir told the SC that he would challenge the apex court's decision on the formation of the full court to hear the PML-Q petition.

Following Qadir, PPP lawyer Farooq H Naek came to the rostrum and informed the CJP that he would not be part of the proceedings.

At this, the CJP told him that he "is not a party in the case".

The CJP said that "no legal" grounds were presented before the court; arguments were presented only regarding the party head's directions; the court arrived at the conclusion that in the current case, there was no need for the full bench.

CJP Bandial said the real question was who can give directions to the party lawmakers. The constitution clearly states that the parliamentary party will give directions to the MPs.

"There is no need for further arguments in this case. We will give priority to wrapping up this case as soon as possible," he said.

Meanwhile, the top court sought assistance on the matter relating to directions by the party head or the parliamentary party to the lawmakers.

“Assist the court over the legal questions or we will set ourselves aside from the bench,” CJP Bandial told Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel of Elahi.

“People sitting on my right side have unanimously decided to boycott the proceedings of the court,” he said, adding that thankfully, they have enough grace to sit in the court to hear the proceedings.

In his arguments, Zafar said that the petitions against the 21st Amendment were dismissed by a ratio of 13/4 in the full court.

However, many judges wrote different reasons for dismissing the petitions, he added.

Zafar told the court that the Constitution mentions that the parliamentary party will give directions to the lawmakers about voting.

At this, the CJP questioned whether the party head and the parliamentary party were two separate entities.

“Yes they are,” Zafar responded.

Justice Ahsan then said, according to the Constitution, the party head ensures the implementation of the decisions taken by the parliamentary party.

The CJP said that the parliamentary party does not make a decision unilaterally. "The parliamentary party is informed about the party's decision, and based on that, it takes a decision."

During the proceedings, Justice Ahsan questioned, “Where has the word parliamentary leader been used?”

The PML-Q counsel replied that the word “parliamentary party” is used in the Political Parties Order 2002.

The word “parliamentary leader” instead of “parliamentary party” is just a mistake, remarked Justice Ahsan.

Seeking the definition of the “party head”, Justice Munib Akhtar asked, “Is the party chief only the head of the political party?”

Ali Zafar replied that former president Pervez Musharraf had replaced the law of party chief with the parliamentary party head, however, the law was abolished in the 18th amendment.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/

 

[MenInG]

CJP Bandial to announce verdict on Punjab CM's election case at 7:30pm

 

[Stewie]

 

[MenInG]

How important is this verdict for the future of the country?

 

[MenInG]

Incumbent Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Hamza Shahbaz lost another vote after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-notified Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Kashif Mehmood, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to details, the ECP has de-notified PML-N MPA from Bahawalnagar – Kashif Mehmood – after the Supreme Court had dismissed his review petition in a fake degree case two days ago.

After the election commission’s move, the number of votes of Hamza Shahbaz in Punjab Assembly (PA) has now reduced to 178.

 

[Stewie]

Any word on the verdict yet? It was supposed to be announced over an hour ago!

 

[Manunited18]

Conspiracy theorists will be warming up with the on going wait!

 

[MenInG]

Conspiracy theorists will be warming up with the on going wait!

Think they would be asleep by now - given how long this has taken

 

[maverick85]

Done

 

[Manunited18]

Chaudrey pervez elahi instated as punjabs chief

 

[Savak]

It appears the establishment has woken up to the absolute disaster of the PDM government of the past 3 months and are now washing their hands off them.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan Tuesday termed the deputy speaker's ruling in chief minister Punjab's election "illegal", announcing PML-Q leader Pervez Elahi as the new CM of the province.

The three-member bench, which announced the verdict after a delay of three hours, directed governor Punjab to administer oath from Elahi tonight at 11:30pm.

 

[Manunited18]

If the establishment has distance themselves from PDM, then both N- league and PPP are history. Zardari knew what was coming, hence ran off to Dubai

 

[Stewie]

If the establishment has distance themselves from PDM, then both N- league and PPP are history. Zardari knew what was coming, hence ran off to Dubai

Dont think its this simple. The establishment is really smart and knows how to play the long game. This is a willing sacrifice to change the narrative that the institutions are all against PTI, army, judiciary, etc. Everybody was cursing them and supporting PTI.

This decision will change the narrative, and now PDM can start crying about how judiciary sided with IK and aim for the sympathy vote. Its quite clear to see the evil gears working behind the scenes at this stuff.

 

[Savak]

Dont think its this simple. The establishment is really smart and knows how to play the long game. This is a willing sacrifice to change the narrative that the institutions are all against PTI, army, judiciary, etc. Everybody was cursing them and supporting PTI.

This decision will change the narrative, and now PDM can start crying about how judiciary sided with IK and aim for the sympathy vote. Its quite clear to see the evil gears working behind the scenes at this stuff.

The Judiciary sided with the PDM in the VONC against PTI in April. PDM has screwed themselves by aligning themselves with the establishment in the last 3 months which has now burried their anti establishment narrative for good.