The lawyers conference that was held in Lahore adopted a resolution against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone the elections as well as the curtailing the suo motu power of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The lawyers conference asked that free and fair elections be held promptly and opposed the electoral watchdog’s decision to postpone them. It also stated that the ECP should follow the court’s directives.
Asserting that the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 was intended to suppress an institution, Abid Zuberi, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said that they would not permit anybody to limit the power of the court.
Speaking to media in Islamabad, the SCBA president stated that elections must be held in accordance with the Constitution 90 days after an assembly has been dissolved.
Asserting that the electoral watchdog would have submitted a review petition if it had any reservations about the date, Abid Zuberi questioned the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ability to change the election date.
The SCBA president said that the bar association was independent of any political organizations. But accusations are made against us for supporting a victim, he said.
He emphasized that it is time to apply Article 6 on those who broke the law and the constitution and said that if elections are not held within 90 days, Articles 5 and 90 of the constitution will be violated.
Zuberi questioned the length of time the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 had been in the Parliament. He declared that the bill’s purpose was to repress a certain institution and that they would not permit the judiciary’s authority to be limited.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which intends to limit the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s suo motu authority, was earlier in the day adopted by the National Assembly.
According to the Law Minister, Article 184 was used arbitrarily. Iftikhar Chaudhry used the suo moto powers without limitations, whereas Saqib Nisar went overboard.
