The ruling coalition including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and others announced on Monday boycott of Supreme Court proceedings on Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s petition against the election of Punjab chief minister.
“The coalition government wanted to give clear stance [on the decision]. We reject the verdict and will boycott [the proceedings],” Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad flanked by other members of the coalition.
Fazl said that the coalition thought the decision would be considered impartial without the formation of a full bench, therefore, it suggested it.
Unfortunately, he added, the court did not consider our demand and rejected it. “We will not be a part of case regarding Punjab chief minister and will boycott the bench,” he said.
Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the decision has the backing of the entire coalition. “Our demand was for the supremacy of Constitution and democracy… it was for the integrity of the judiciary and about parliament,” he added.
He said that if the full court had accepted the coalition’s proposal, the entire country would’ve accepted the decision wholeheartedly.
Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that justice demands that if fingers are pointed at a judge or a bench then it should move away from the case, adding that this practice is followed across the world.
The announcement comes hours after the top court rejected the coalition government’s request to form a full bench on the deputy speaker ruling pertaining to the contentious Punjab chief minister election.
The court in its short order said that it examined the deputy speaker’s ruling on Punjab CM elections and detailed reasons for rejecting the petitions for constituting the full court will be issued later.
Read: Ruling coalition seething over SC ruling on Hamza’s ‘trustee CM’ status
The hearing of the case was adjourned till 11:30am tomorrow (Tuesday).
Soon after SC’s decision, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said that when decisions are not made in accordance with the law then there is a fear of a full court.
فل کورٹ نا بنانے کی ایک ہی وجہ ہے۔۔۔خوف ! اپنے ہی کیے ہوئے فیصلوں کا تضاد سامنے آنے کا خوف!
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) July 25, 2022
Reacting to the verdict, Maryam said on her official Twitter handle that the apex court decided against including “honest judges” on the bench, because of the fear that flaws of their previous decisions would come to fore.
People know that the apex court’s decision is not in line with the Constitution and the law “but it is based on personal likes and dislikes”, she added.
جب فیصلے آئین،قانون اور انصاف کے مطابق نا ہوں تو فُل کورٹ سے خطرہ رہتا ہے۔کیونکہ ایماندار ججز کے شامل ہونے سے فیصلے کی خامیاں منظرِ عام پر آ جاتی ہیں اور لوگ جان جاتے ہیں کہ فیصلہ آئین و قانون نہیں، ذاتی پسند و ناپسند کی بنیاد پر کیا گیا ہے۔
مگر اب کچھ بھی کر لیں،لوگ تو جان گئے!— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) July 25, 2022
“No matter what you do people have come to know,” she added.
In another tweet, she said at least she knew that the full court would not be formed and justice will not be served. “This is what I wanted to tell the nation!”
ہمارے ۲۰ ووٹ بھی آپ نے ہم سے چھین لیےاور ق۔لیگ کے ۱۰ ووٹ بھی آپ نے PTI کو عطا کر دیے تو پرویز الہی صاحب کی majority تو آپ کی دین ہے می لارڈ !
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) July 25, 2022
The PML-N leader added, “You took away our 20 votes from us and you gave 10 votes of Q-League to PTI, so Parvaiz Elahi Sahib’s majority is your gift, my Lord!”
