The last few weeks have been marred by uncertainty as the judiciary and the government remain at loggerheads. The government strongly reacted to the recent verdict by the three-member bench of the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) against the postponement of elections in Punjab till October 8. The government openly declared that it would not abide by the order, with leaders of various coalition parties in the government calling for a full court bench to hear the case.
They cast doubts on the authority of the three-member bench after a clear division surfaced among the judges of the apex court. The initial five-member bench was reduced to three after two judges, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, recused themselves from hearing the case. As a result, the government called from constituting a full court bench to hear the petition. The National Assembly as well as the federal cabinet refused to abide by the apex court’s ruling, which ordered that the elections in Punjab be held on May 14.
The bench had also made certain changes to the election schedule.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed the verdict a “murder of justice”, drawing a comparison between the decision that led to the hanging of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the recent directive on holding elections. The legislators strongly criticized the judiciary, declaring outrightly that the decision would not be implemented, once again demanding a full court to hear the case.
They urged Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial to “rethink and constitute a full court bench” to resolve the crisis. The federal cabinet too rejected the verdict, directing the legal team to look into the decision and find ways to counter it.
Speaking on the floor of the house following the cabinet meeting, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the prime minister had asked him as well as the attorney general to give a legal opinion on the court’s decision. This whole scenario shows that the constitutional and political crises would only worsen, with the situation not calming down anytime soon.
The government believes that the transparency and fairness of the elections would come under doubt if separate elections are held in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The law minister was of the view that polls should be held simultaneously. The other day, PTI leader and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser expressed his party’s willingness to consider constitutional amendments for adjustments to the election schedule beyond the 90-day requirement under the law.
But for that, he asked the government to announce its willingness to engage in talks with the PTI. The seriousness of the situation can be gauged from the fact that the meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sharif, which discussed both the security issues and heightened political tensions.
According to sources, the meeting sought a briefing from the top military brass on the security situation as per the SC orders in the wake of elections in Punjab on May 14. From the looks of it, the election issue seems far from resolved. The government is not budging from its stance whereas the judiciary is adamant about its decision. The near future isn’t very clear at the moment. Where would this end and what would be the outcome of this confrontation: nobody knows.