On Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated his demand for a full court to hear the election case after expressing dissatisfaction with the decision made by a three-member Supreme Court (SC) panel regarding the schedule of the elections in Punjab. While speaking at the Islamabad Lawyers Complex foundation stone-laying ceremony, the Prime Minister stated that his coalition government would respect the verdict of the full court bench of the SC on the issue of scheduling elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, he asserted that judges who have recused themselves should not be added to that bench. PM Shehbaz also recalled the notion of need created by Judge Munir that pushed Pakistan in a particular direction.
PM Shehbaz emphasized that his government respects the Supreme Court and its judges, and their rulings should be applicable to everyone. He noted that everyone would have accepted the verdict if the request for a full bench of the Supreme Court in the issue involving the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been granted. The ruling was contested by the current administration. The three-member panel, composed of Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, directed the electoral watchdog to hold the poll in Punjab on May 14.
Originally scheduled to take place on April 30, the election in Punjab was postponed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) until October 8 due to a recurrence of terror attacks, a lack of security personnel, and an extraordinary economic crisis. After the Supreme Court’s directive, the electoral commission announced May 14 as the election date, with the halted voting process to start on April 10.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that a six-member bigger bench was constituted for the identical case after Judge Qazi Faez Isa’s ruling in a case was declared illegal by a circular. He noted that even though the constitution’s Article 63-A was changed, the government’s petition to the supreme court had not yet been addressed.
PM Shehbaz stated that no political party could avoid elections since doing so would bury its politics. He further stated that while a court had ruled that a prime minister was nothing without his federal cabinet, other people were not subject to the same standard. The Prime Minister advised all parties involved to evaluate their behavior and determine if they wanted to safeguard the future of future generations or engage in personal conflicts that would lead Pakistan down a path from which no one could ever return.
The Prime Minister also expressed his satisfaction over the creation of the Attorneys Complex project, which will cost Rs1.8 billion. He emphasized that for the sake of Pakistan, everyone must make decisions rationally and together to safeguard the future of the country, which is beset by various difficulties.
