ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Saturday said the no-trust motion against the prime minister was a democratic process and must be pursued per the procedure laid in the Constitution.
The observation by the chief justice, Umar Ata Bandial, came during the hearing of a petition moved by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) requesting it to intervene to avoid a potential “anarchic situation” which the body feared could arise in case of a clash between supporters of the government and opposition parties during March 28 voting on the motion.
The threat of political turmoil in the nation is growing as the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party and the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance have announced to hold public shows in Islamabad on March 25 and 27, respectively, prompting fears of violence and instability.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Bandial and Justice Munib Akhtar took up the petition.
The court had earlier fixed March 21 as the date to hear the petition but it instead took the matter Saturday instead in the wake of the mob storming of Sindh House the previous day.
Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan and Islamabad police chief Ahsan Younas appeared before the court.
During the hearing, while referring to the attack on the Sindh House, Justice Bandial said the incident was against freedom of expression and protest.
He further said lawmakers and institutions should be provided security as per the constitution and warned that an attack on public property is a bailable offence.
The court further ruled the political processes should be pursued as per law and Constitution, expressing hope that all sides will exercise restraint.
The bench adjourned the hearing until Monday and summoned a report from Younas on the storming of Sindh House, while serving notices on four political parties — PTI, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Meanwhile, responding to the government’s decision to seek the court’s opinion on Article 63-A, Justice Bandial said his court would hear the matter once the presidential reference was filed.
“The job of the court is to look at the Constitution rather than the political situation,” he observed.
THE PETITION
The SCBA petition said its request is aimed at ensuring the process of the no-trust motion is completed in a peaceful manner.
No-trust motion is a democratic process under article 95 of the Constitution to remove a prime minister, the representative body of the lawyers said in its petition.
Pointing to the inflammatory statements made by the prime minister, his ministers and the opposition, it expressed fear there is a chance of a clash between the two sides on the day of voting.
The petition nominated the prime minister, the federation, Ministry of Defence secretary, National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif, House secretary, Islamabad chief commissioner, deputy commissioner and police chief as respondents.
The petition said circumstances involving a confrontation between the government and the opposition could trigger an “anarchic situation” in the country.
“It is evident from the political history of our country that preventing the constitutional process from taking its course has produced dire consequence for democracy and rule of law,” it read.
The opposition blames Khan for mismanaging the country, economy and foreign policy. No prime minister has ever completed his term in office.
Without the coalition partners and the dissidents, Khan’s party, which has 155 seats in the National Assembly, would fall short of the 172 needed to retain power. The joint opposition has a strength of nearly 163 in the House.
