Pakistan SC Dubs Ruling On No-Trust As Unconstitutional

Islamabad, April 7: Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday said that ruling on no-confidence motion by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri was a violation of the constitution.

The apex court’s five-member larger bench — headed by Justice Bandial and comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Aijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel is hearing the National Assembly proceedings case on the fifth consecutive day. Amid claims of the country facing a constitutional crisis, CJP Bandial said, “Where is the constitutional crisis if everything is happening as per the Constitution?

There is no constitutional crisis in Pakistan. “While the Supreme Court is currently hearing the matter to decide the legality of the deputy speaker’s ruling and the subsequent actions and orders of the prime minister and the president, the president’s letter to the ECP stated that under Article 48(5)(A) and Article 224(2) of the Constitution, the president had to appoint a date, not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, for holding of the general elections. On Tuesday, ECP sources had expressed the inability of the electoral body to hold polls within three months citing various legal hitches and procedural challenges. However, later the election commission clarified that it had not issued any statement about holding of elections, but at the same time did not say whether it was ready to conduct the polls in three months. Meanwhile, sources informed that the electoral body had started considering options to carry out delimitation of constituencies in the minimum possible time.