The federal government on Thursday hinted at filing references against the top brass of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) under Article 6 after a Supreme Court judgment in the National Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling case.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued its detailed judgment in the suo motu case on former NA deputy speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on the no-confidence motion against ex-prime minister Imran Khan and said it was not satisfied with the proof as insufficient evidence was presented to support PTI’s claim of foreign interference.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said: “We have started working to file a reference under Article 6. Only the federal government has the authority to file cases under Articles 5 and 6.”
Sanaullah said that the court used the words “blatant violation” in its judgement, which has led to PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s “political demise”.
“Imran Khan violated the constitution for his benefit […] in line with the order, the president, the then-prime minister, and the then-deputy speaker violated the constitution,” he said.
He added that other than the treason case, there was another way to punish the PTI leaders. “The NA speaker will move the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to unseat and disqualify them (PTI MNAs, including Imran Khan),” he added.
Sanaullah added that he would also seek the federal cabinet’s permission to arrest the PTI chairman.
He added that President Arif Alvi must step down after the apex court verdict.
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar also endorsed the verdict and said that it would serve as an example in the future.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside PM’s Adviser on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira, the minister said that the court had proven once again that it would always uphold the constitution and protect the people’s mandate.
“The SC has declared that the deputy speaker’s ruling was unconstitutional and undemocratic,” he said. He also pointed out that the verdict stated the “ruling was based on ill-intention”.
The minister claimed that the detailed verdict was the “final nail in the coffin” of Imran’s foreign conspiracy narrative as the cypher, which Suri used to dismiss the no-trust vote, was never shown to the court and was also not discussed in parliament.
“If the matter was as grave as Imran portrayed it to be, why didn’t he bring the document to parliament? What did he take it with himself to rallies and wave it at the public?” he contended.
“With all of this and the SC’s judgment, all the political parties in the country have come to the conclusion that the so-called narrative was brought to illegally stop the no-confidence vote,” Tarar said.
Meanwhile, Kaira said that everything that happened on April 3 was a “conspiracy against the institutions and the constitution” of Pakistan.
“We have said this time and again: Imran Khan is a fascist man whose party is hell-bent on spreading hatred and polarisation in the country.”
Verdict exposes Imran’s lies: PM
In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the detailed judgment issued by the SC has “exposed the lies and propaganda” by Imran Khan and his party leaders.
In a tweet, he termed it “utterly shameful” how the former premier tried to undermine the Constitution and “fabricated the narrative of regime change”.
“The judgement is a must-read for everyone,” he added.
Justice Miankhel’s additional note
Supreme Court Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel in his additional note on the SC’s judgement, authored by CJP Umar Ata Bandial, had observed that the sacred trust of exercise of authority was violated by President Arif Alvi, ex-premier Imran and other PTI leaders.
The apex court judge, who retired on Wednesday, urged the parliament to initiate action under Article 6 of the constitution, seeking the charge of high treason against President Alvi, PTI chief, former speaker of the assembly Asad Qaisar, former deputy speaker Qasim Suri and former law minister Fawad Chaudhry for violating trust by derailing the process of the no-confidence motion pursued against Imran Khan.
Justice Miankhel further added that to halt parliament’s right to pursue the process of the no-confidence motion and the decision to dissolve the assembly were against the spirit of the constitution.
“Whether these acts attract Article 6 of the Constitution (high treason) is also left open to be determined by the parliamentarians to ponder; should they leave open the doors for such unconstitutional acts or take suitable measures to stop such mess in future?” Justice Miankhel questioned.
