By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government would request a full bench of the Supreme Court to hear cases on defection of lawmakers under Article 63-A of the Constitution, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday.
The ruling coalition would urge the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to form a full bench to preside over petitions filed with regard to the Punjab chief minister’s election that saw Hamza Shehbaz retaining the office on a technical ground.
“The government alliance had decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court for the formation of a full court bench,” the information minister said . The leaders of the ruling parties will also address a press conference on Monday.
“It will only be fair for all respected SC judges to hear the Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) review request, the present petition and other related applications together,” the minister said. “These are very important national, political and constitutional matters.”
Last Friday Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari decided not to count PML-Q’s votes in the Punjab chief minister’s election, deeming them to be against party head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s directions and thus handing Hamza Shehbaz the victory over PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.
Mazari’s ruling was challenged by Elahi in the SC.
The Minister said the PPP, PML-N and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl will go to the SC, while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Balochistan National Party, Balochistan Awami Party and other allied parties will be among the petitioners as well.
“The lawyers of all the parties will argue in the Supreme Court on Article 63-A of the Constitution.”
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar also called for the formation of a full court bench to hear cases related to Article 63-A’s interpretation.
“The cases such as the SCBA’s review petition or Friday’s Punjab CM election or appeals of de-seated dissident PTI MPAs were all linked together. The most foundational case is Article 63-A’s interpretation with which all these matters are solved,” he added.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBA) President Ahsan Bhoon urged the apex court to take up his review petition against its judgement in a presidential reference on Article 63-A.
“This is the right time for the apex court to take up the pending petition of the SCBA and decide the matter for once and all, so that no one dares to point fingers at the top court,” Bhoon said in a statement.
He said the SCBA was of the opinion that the interpretation of Article 63-A pertaining to the treatment of dissidents is against the norms of natural justice, hence it requires a thorough and detailed debate.
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