In a setback for Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country’s Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the rejection of the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the National Assembly.
The court also set aside subsequent steps including the dissolution of the National Assembly and fixed 10 am on 9 April as the date for the no-confidence vote, local media reported. According to Pakistan’s Samaa News, a bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on the no-confidence vote unconstitutional in a unanimous judgment. The court set aside the ruling and the steps taken after it including the dissolution of the National Assembly, reports said. The National Assembly will elect a new Prime Minister on 9 April if the no-confidence motion is upheld, the Supreme Court said.
According to Geo News, the Pakistan Supreme Court said the Prime Minister was bound by the Constitution and “therefore, he could not advise the President to dissolve Assemblies”. All instructions given by PM Khan to the President including dissolution of the Assembly were reversed, the Pakistan Supreme Court said. No member can be prevented from voting in the no-trust motion, the apex court added.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday noted that National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri’s move to dismiss a no-confidence motion against embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan through a controversial ruling is, prima facie, a violation of Article 95 of the Constitu
tion as the apex court heard the high-profile case for the fourth day.
Chief Justice Bandial, who is heading a five-member bench comprising Justices Ijazul Ahsan, Mohammad Ali Mazhar Miankhel, Munib Akhtar and Jamal Khan Mandokhel, declared as unconstitutional the controversial ruling by the deputy speaker regarding the rejection of the no-confidence motion in Parliament.
Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who is associated with PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, on 3 April dismissed the no-confidence motion against the Premier, claiming that it was linked with a “foreign conspiracy” to topple the government and hence was not maintainable. Minutes later, President Ari Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Khan who had effectively lost the majority. Chief Justice Bandial declared as unconstitutional the controversial ruling by the Deputy Speaker regarding the rejection of the no-confidence motion in Parliament.
Earlier, amid tightened security outside Pakistan Supreme Court, Chief Justice Bandial, after noting that the Deputy Speaker’s ruling to dismiss the no-trust motion against Imran Khan was a violation of Article 95, said that the verdict would be delivered at 7:30 pm on Thursday. The remark by the Chief Justice came during the hearing of the National Assembly proceedings case, as the apex court resumed deliberation over the case for the fifth consecutive day today. As the time of the verdict inched closer, lawyers outside the court said that nothing can be commented on as the matter is sub-judice in the court. One of the lawyers said that the Supreme Court will give its decision by interpreting Article 5 adding that the decision by the top court will be in favour of the nation. At the outset of the hearing, Barrister Ali Zafar, representing President Arif Alvi, came to the rostrum and assured the court of completing his arguments within 10 minutes. The CJP had taken suo motu notice of the constitutional crisis that was triggered after Suri disallowed voting on the motion on 3 April, deeming it “unconstitutional”—a move that the Opposition said was a blatant violation of the Constitution. The judge maintained in a written judgment issued during Sunday’s hearing that his fellow judges had approached him and had expressed concern over the situation.
“Any orders and actions that Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly shall be subject to the order of this court,” CJP Bandial had said taking the notice on Sunday. Earlier, the SC restrained state institutions from taking any extra-constitutional steps and directed them to act strictly in accordance with the Constitution, besides asking all political forces of the country to remain peaceful. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court on the constitutional crisis. The constitutional petition filed by SCBA states that voting of no-confidence motion was a must, and the speaker cannot cancel the voting by a ruling. Imran Khan and his supporters have alleged a foreign conspiracy to remove his government from power. The Pakistan Prime Minister named a US diplomat, Donald Lu, as being involved in the alleged conspiracy to topple his government.