ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing into suo motu case about dismissal of no-confidence motion in the National Assembly till tomorrow.
A five-member bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard the case on the dismissal of a no-confidence motion against the prime minister by the NA deputy speaker.
The lawyers of the petitioner, political parties and the Supreme Court Bar Association have completed their arguments. The court has asked the lawyers of the other party to complete their arguments tomorrow. The five-member bench is headed by the CJP and includes Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
During today’s hearing, the PML-N’s counsel counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan proposed that the apex court may seek an “in-camera briefing about the foreign conspiracy from the intelligence chief”.
“Right now we are looking at the law and Constitution,” the CJP replied, adding the court didn’t interfere in the state or foreign policy and all respondents would be told to focus on this matter at the moment. “We prefer that a decision be taken on this matter only,” CJP Bandial said. “We want to see if the court can review the ruling of the deputy speaker.”
Justice Muneeb said that the court only wanted to see constitutional matters for now. He aid the NA and provincial assembly were masters of their respective houses and the distribution of powers was also enshrined in the constitution. The PML-N’s counsel argued that the court could judicially review an illegal and unconstitutional move.
Justice Ahsan also said that the court only wanted to see constitutional matters for now. The court adjourned the hearing till 11am on Wednesday (tomorrow).
Earlier at today’s hearing, the SC sought the record of NA proceedings conducted on the no-confidence motion filed against PM Imran Khan.
PPP Senator Raza Rabbani noted how media reports said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had said it was not possible to hold general elections within three months. However, the ECP has denied issuing any statement concerning elections.
“The no-confidence motion can’t be dismissed without voting on it,” he said, citing Article 95 of the Constitution. Rabbani also said that a deliberate attempt was made to construct a narrative against the no-trust move and a foreign conspiracy.
The senator said that Fawad Chaudhry, speaking on a point of order during Sunday’s session, had talked about the letter and the foreign conspiracy even though it was not on the day’s agenda.
He also maintained that it was wrong of Suri to term opposition lawmakers as traitors without providing any evidence. He said a no-confidence motion was also submitted against Asad Qaiser which limits the power of the speaker, adding that assemblies could not be dissolved during the no-confidence process.
He urged the court to dismiss the deputy speaker’s ruling and to restore the National Assembly, adding that the minutes of the National Security Committee and the ‘threat letter’ should also be presented.
The PML-N’s counsel said that the deputy speaker did not give the opposition a chance to speak during the session held on April 3 and gave the floor to the former information minister. He said that the no-confidence motion can’t be dismissed by the speaker once it is tabled in the NA.
