ISLAMABAD: The prime minister will lead a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition in Islamabad Saturday to discuss the economic, political, and judicial crises and “devise a future strategy for the government,” according to state-run Radio Pakistan.
The meeting will be held via video link, with Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar briefing members on legal issues.
The meeting comes as the Supreme Court considers the deferral by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by more than five months.
Former prime minister Imran Khan is pushing for an early national election. His party dissolved two provincial parliaments, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in January, and provincial elections are supposed to be held within 90 days of their respective dissolvements.
However, the election commission refused to accommodate the deadline, saying provincial elections are to be held in early October. The Supreme Court intervened and took a “suo-motu” notice last month, but the government passed a bill to curb the suo-moto power, and some judges in the court, notably incoming chief justice Qazi Faez Isa, are supporting the motion.
The court itself has been beset by internal turmoil, with two judges recusing themselves from the plea moved by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) against the delay. The government is demanding a full court bench to hear the matter.
The meeting also follows a press conference by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in which he accused the superior judiciary of constituting “selective” benches for suo-motu notices.
Khan, on the other hand, accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of attempting to replicate the 1997 situation when several thousand supporters of elder Sharif, led by several of the ruling MPs, stormed the Supreme Court in an effort to pressure Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who was hearing a contempt petition against him.
As PMLN did in 1997 by storming SC to attack CJ Sajjad Ali Shah hearing a contempt petition against Nawaz Sharif, today PMLN is again threatening SC & CJP because they are petrified of elections. I want ppl of Pak to be ready to come out in streets if need be to save Rule of Law,
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 31, 2023
