Islamabad, (Samajweekly) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with his legal team and some PML-N leaders vowing to hold Parliament “supreme” in the face of the Supreme Court’s decisions regarding elections to the Punjab Assembly and staying implementation of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023.
Legal brains of the party — federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman and former law minister Zahid Hamid — briefed the premier about the possible consequences the government could face after the Act, became law despite the apex court’s order, Dawn reported.
The Supreme Court had halted implementation of the bill seeking to curtail the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) powers to take suo motu notices and constituting benches.
The bill became an Act on Friday.
“The Prime Minister was told by the government’s legal brains that he is ‘legally safe’ if the Supreme Court takes note of the violation of its order, a source told Dawn.
He said the legal team had informed the premier about possible action the Supreme Court could take against him for defiance by the government of its order to hold elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
He said Sharif also discussed with the PML-N’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Khwaja Saad Rafique the apex court’s order to evolve a consensus on the date for holding elections to the National and provincial assemblies on the same day.
The Supreme Court will resume proceedings on April 27 on petitions for holding elections in Punjab.
The apex court has made it clear that its order about the May 14 polls in Punjab would remain intact, Dawn reported.
“There seems little chance of a consensus between the ruling coalition and the PTI over a date for holding elections for the National and provincial assemblies simultaneously. This fight between Parliament and Supreme Court will go to the next level, eventually proving disastrous for the democratic set-up” the source added.
