ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial on Thursday urged the ruling coalition and the opposition to come together to discuss the elections for the sake of the constitution.
“Please sit together for the sake of the Constitution,” remarked Chief Justice Bandial while concluding today’s hearing of the election delay case.
The Supreme Court held the hearing amid a deadlock between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on election talks.
At the start of the hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan told the court that the first contact between the government and the opposition was on April 19 and they agreed to meet on April 26.
He said that Federal Ministers Ayaz Sadiq, Saad Rafique met PTI leader Asad Qaiser in which they said that they do not have the authority to negotiate.
The AGP said members of the ruling coalition met on Wednesday. He added that two of the coalition partners had objections to the talks but they gave way.
Awan told the court that Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has written to the government and the opposition and asked four names each from the treasury and opposition benches in Parliament.
On this, Chief Justice Bandial inquired that what did the government do after the information of the failure of negotiations by the Kaiser?
The AGP replied that he came to know through the media on Tuesday that PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has the power to negotiate.
The Chief Justice asked in what capacity did he contact the Senate Chairman? To this, AGP Awan replied that the Chairman Senate was asked to intervene as his office was a “symbol of the federation”.
Chief Justice Bandial remarked that Farooq H. Naik had said at the last hearing that the Chairman Senate would facilitate the negotiations.
The Senate Chairman is neither the representative of the government nor the opposition. The Chief Justice remarked that if the government was serious about negotiations, it would have taken action itself.
“The court cannot compel [the parties] to negotiate. The court only wants the implementation of the Constitution to resolve the dispute,” the top judge added. He said that the court does not need any explanation but needs a solution to the problem.
On the negotiations in the Senate, the Chief Justice said that it will take time for the Chairman to convene the meeting.
On this occasion, PPP’s lawyer Naik said that all the parties in the ruling coalition are ready to negotiate with PTI.
He further said that Senate is the only institution where all parties are represented. He further said that the negotiations have to be done by the committee and political leaders.
“This is a political issue, so political leaders should be allowed to solve the issue. Let politicians decide the future of politics,” Naik said.
After that, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi came to the rostrum and told the court that there is no consensus on negotiations in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). He added that his party took the court order seriously as the government was “trying to violate the constitution”.
The court provided an opportunity to the political parties for the national interest. [However] PTI has not been contacted [yet],” Qureshi said.
Chief Justice Bandial then remarked that one has to be patient in the matter of negotiations.
Naik told the bench that PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been persuaded to hold talks in the Senate.
“The court has not given any order, it is only a suggestion. If there is no consensus for the sake of national interest and the constitution, things will remain as they are,” said Chief Justice Bandial. He also expressed surprise that the negotiations Why the delay in recommending the names of the representatives for
The government names will be finalized in three to four hours. PTI can name three if it wants but five [senators] are important,” said Naik.
Chief Justice Bandial then suggested that Naik be included in the talks so that he could cool down the temperature. He also remarked that the government seems to be paying for the talks.
Wrapping up today’s hearing, Chief Justice Bandial remarked that the court will not issue any directives nor issue a timeline for negotiations. However, he added that the court will issue an appropriate order.
PTI rejects Senate chairman’s offer
Ahead of the hearing, the PTI rejected Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani’s proposal to set up a 10-member special parliamentary committee to begin negotiations to end the impasse.
The offer came after the Supreme Court in its previous hearing before Eid-ul-Fitr had directed political parties to hold talks to reach a consensus on the date of elections in the country.
Subsequently, the main ruling parties – Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – assured the Supreme Court that they should sit down with the PTI and try to find a solution to the issue. The hearing was adjourned till today (April 27). Election date.
Despite tough stances from both sides, it hasn’t happened yet.
However, the ruling alliance has proposed setting up a 10-member parliamentary committee with equal representation from both parties to discuss holding elections on a single date across the country as per the Supreme Court order.
The development came after a meeting of the ruling coalition on Wednesday, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a parliamentary committee would discuss the terms of talks between coalition parties and the PTI.
Meanwhile, the PTI has also formed a three-member committee to negotiate with the ruling coalition for the same-day polls.
