Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court does not interfere in state and foreign policy matters and would only decide on the legality of National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said this during the hearing of the apex court’s suo motu notice on the political situation in the country. The CJP said the court would only focus on the deputy speaker’s ruling. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan suggesred that the SC seek an “in-camera briefing about the foreign conspiracy from the intelligence chief”.
“We prefer that a decision be taken on this matter only,” Justice Bandial stated. “We want to see if the court can review the ruling of the deputy speaker.”
Justice Muneeb Akhtar remarked that the NA and provincial assembly were masters of their respective houses. The distribution of powers was also enshrined in the constitution, the judge added.
Earlier during the hearing, the SC sought the record of NA proceedings conducted on the no-confidence motion filed against interim PM Khan.
Pakistan People’s Party Senator Raza Rabbani noted how, according to media reports, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it was impossible to hold general elections within three months. However, the ECP has since rejected issuing any statement concerning elections.
