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ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said on Friday the apex court would proceed in line with the constitution come what may and would not sit idle on the May 14 election issue if the dialogue between the government and the PTI failed.
The Supreme Court resumed the hearing on the plea regarding holding of general elections for the National Assembly and provincial assemblies in one go after the coalition government and main opposition party PTI sat together for three days and tried to talk out the issue. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar began hearing on Friday.
The PTI submitted a report in court, claiming that no resolution had been reached and requested that the court enforce its April 4 order regarding elections in Punjab.
At the outset of the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan came to the rostrum and said the government had submitted its response to the talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He said PPP lawyer Farooq H. Naek would brief the court on the negotiations.
Mr Naek informed the court that the federal government had filed a combined petition regarding the date of the Punjab elections. He said Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani played the role of a facilitator during the negotiations. He said there were five rounds of negotiations between the PTI and the ruling alliance.
“The coalition parties informed the PTI about the current economic situation in the country and the ongoing negotiations with the IMF,” Mr Naek said. He added that the PTI also agreed to the dire economic situation. He said more time was needed for negotiations.
The CJP asked why the IMF agreement had been emphasised in the government’s response. “The issue in court is constitutional, not political,” he remarked. He said the court “leaves the political matter to the political parties”.
Mr Naek said the IMF loan was “necessary for the budget.” He contended that if the assemblies were dissolved, the budget would not be approved. “If the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies had not been dissolved, this crisis would not have occurred,” he said. He said the situation was also wasting court’s time.
The chief justice asked whether the IMF loan would be part of the government’s fund reserves or be used in the repayment of debts. He said no one could deny that the Constitution mandates elections be held within 90 days of the assembly’s dissolution. The PPP lawyer agreed and added that there were no two opinions on the issue.
