By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a petition seeking simultaneous general elections to all national and provincial assemblies till April 27, after being informed of a meeting planned between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on April 26.
The court had earlier fixed May 14 as the date for polls in Punjab, and it has now instructed both sides to hold talks with a view to reaching an agreement on the constitutional and legal question of a consensual date for general elections.
The directives were issued by a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar.
During the hearing, coalition parties told the court that a dialogue with the opposition was planned after Eid, but Justice Bandial instructed the government to hold talks on the same day.
The court had given both sides until 4 pm, Thursday, to develop a consensus on elections. However, the deadline passed without the resumption of proceedings.
The court in a written order said positive statements of the political leadership, representing all major political parties with respect to the simultaneous holding of general elections of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies gives cause for optimism that they would agree to an election date sooner rather than later.
The court also said that it was “impressed” to note that all political leaders had affirmed their fidelity to the Constitution which was “supreme and must be adhered to”.
The order further said that the negotiations could be centered solely on a one-point agenda, namely, the consensual fixation of a date for the holding of general elections of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies, which is a constitutional and legal question.
The top court stated that it was important that such a result is reached “expeditiously” as the court had already fixed May 14 as the date for polls in Punjab.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), immediately rejected talks with PTI chairman Imran Khan following the top court’s negotiation deadline.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, also the chairman of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), has unequivocally rejected talks with PTI chairman Imran Khan following the top court’s negotiation deadline.
During a press conference, Rehman criticized the top court’s decision to bring Khan, who dissolved the assemblies, into the political spotlight and emphasized that the matter was entirely non-political for him.
Furthermore, he accused the SC of disrespecting politicians, parliament, and the entire country.
Rehman referred to the Supreme Court (Practices and Procedure) Bill, 2023, which was passed by the parliament and the senate last month to curtail the powers of the country’s top judge.
Although the bill has yet to become law, the apex court issued an interim order on April 13 to stay its implementation until further notice.
“The parliament has lost its confidence in the bench, then why should we appear before it?” he said, adding that parliament was neither obliged to appear before the bench nor was it ready to negotiate with Khan.
Rehman also pointed out that there was no point in holding talks with Khan because the ex-premier had already said he would not accept election results if he doesn’t win by a two-thirds majority.
“Telling us to talk to him is an insult to parliament and politics,” Rehman said. “I accept your justice, but not your gavel or your coercion.”
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