The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its decision in the same-day elections case after the government and the PTI informed it about the outcome of their negotiations, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial headed the three-judge bench which heard the case. Other members of the bench were Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar.
While thanking all the lawyers, the CJP said the court will issue an “appropriate” order.
During the nearly 90-minute proceedings, the government side sought more time from the apex court for holding negotiations to develop a consensus on the same-day elections.
However, PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi informed the court that the talks with the government were now a thing of the past.
If negotiations fail, court will not sit idle: CJP
Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial remarked that if the negotiations fail, the court will not sit idle on the verdict of May 14, but the court has to follow its decision according to the constitution.
PPP lawyer Farooq H Naek read out the coalition government's response in court. He said that the debts have increased by 78% and circular debt by 125% while the loss of 31 billion dollars was caused due to flood. The budget, IMF agreement and trade policy must be approved before the assembly can dissolve.
Naek said that a level-playing field and one-day elections were agreed upon, but the date of dissolution of the assembly could not be agreed upon.
The lawyer stated that the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies are not ready for premature dissolution, each party has to show flexibility in negotiations, but success in negotiations cannot be achieved in a few days, so more time is required for negotiations.
The Chief Justice remarked that in the government reply, the emphasis was given on the IMF agreement, but the issue in the court is constitutional, not political, and the court leaves the political issue to the political parties.
The Chief Justice inquired why the approval of the IMF agreement and the trade policy is necessary. Naek said that it is necessary to get the IMF loan for the budget and if there are no assemblies, the budget will not be approved. If the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies had not been dissolved, the crisis would not have occurred and the time of the court is also being wasted due to the crisis.
The Chief Justice inquired whether the IMF loan will be used for reserves or in repayment of debts. To which, Naek replied that this answer can be given by the finance minister.
The Chief Justice remarked that even if the assembly is dissolved, the constitution gives a period of four months for the budget. He asked, “Is the budget made under the IMF package?”
According to newspapers, the friendly countries will also give loans after the IMF package, the top judge said adding, did the PTI accept or reject the importance of the budget? “No one can deny the 90-day limit for elections in the Constitution,” the CJP observed.
Naek said there are no two opinions regarding the holding of elections in 90 days.
The Chief Justice remarked that this is a matter of implementation of the constitution and the matter also holds national and public importance.
“The court has already given a decision on conducting elections in 90 days … if the negotiations failed, the court will not sit idle on its May 14 order, but rather the court has to follow its decision according to the constitution,” CJP Bandial remarked.
The Chief Justice said that he can use the constitution to implement his decision according to the constitution. The court only wants to do its duty, he added.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked that the court only wants to fulfill its duty, saying that it did not respond to any negative comments out of deference.
CJP Bandial remarked that the court had been accused in the past of not respecting the constitution and finding a way.
“We have restrained ourselves from responding to any (negative) comment out of respect,” the CJP said adding that “right decisions cannot be made in anger, that’s why we do not get angry”.
Naek said that the court has to examine the issue of elections in 90 days, it is necessary to have caretaker governments for the elections, no one will accept the election in the presence of elected governments and this is not the doctrine of necessity.
Addressing Naek, the Chief Justice said that when the issue was raised on February 23, you raised your fingers and the constitutional proceedings were not taken seriously by the government.
Naek said that they were not heard by the court, to which the Chief Justice said that in the second round, you had boycotted and never tried to get a decision, you were engaged in the discussion of a 4-3 verdict. .
The Chief Justice remarked that Justice Athar Minullah had raised the point of restoring the assemblies but the government was not interested, ‘just look at today's conversation, no one is talking about the decision or the law’. The CJP said that the Election Commission had asked for funds and security.
Naek said that there were no arguments on the constitutional points.
The Chief Justice remarked that you can gauge the seriousness of the government from this point alone that it has not even filed the review petition.
“The government does not want to talk about law, it only wants to do politics. We have said earlier that politics has entered the court proceedings, but we will not respond to politics. We have taken an oath to defend the constitution before Allah,” CJB Bandial remarked.
The Chief Justice remarked that along with the economic, political, social and security crises, there is also a constitutional crisis, eight people were martyred yesterday. The government and the opposition have to be serious. If the matter is left to the political parties, should we not implement the law, or should the court turn a blind eye to the public interest? Allah is Supreme only, he added.
The Chief Justice remarked that the government is bound to implement the court orders, the court is showing patience but it should not be considered as our weakness, we will not hesitate to make sacrifices for the implementation of the law. The youth of the nation have rendered sacrifices, we are also ready to make sacrifices.
PTI requests court to implement May 14 order
Barrister Ali Zafar said that the PTI is agreed to hold elections on the same day and stipulated that the assemblies should be dissolved by May 14, the second condition was that the elections should be held in the second week of July, while the third condition was that election delay should be legalized through constitutional amendment.
The PTI requested the court to implement the order of elections on May 14.
Barrister Ali Zafar stated that the court should implement its order as the government did not file a request for review of the decision of May 14 elections and the points raised by Farooq Naek are irrelevant and we cannot go outside the constitution.
The Chief Justice remarked that Naek only informed the court about the difficulties.
No one wants conflict among institutions: Saad Rafiq
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice welcomed Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq when he came to the rostrum.
Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that he is not a lawyer, nor does he know the etiquette to speak in the court. “But I will tell the truth, I will say nothing but the truth. The distrust between institutions and political parties is very deep. The courts have been doing injustice to us since 2017 and I also stand before you as a victim,” he added.
He said that no one wants conflict among institutions, if they cannot provide clean water to the people, how can they afford conflict among institutions? During the negotiations, a lot of things were heard, but political crisis can only be resolved through negotiations. The constitution also demands transparency, besides the 90-day election requirement.
He said elections had been delayed in the past due to floods and the martyrdom of Mohtarman Benazir Bhutto. if the government did not raise any legal point, then the court should take the suo motu notice itself, he pleaded.
Khawaja Saad said that they want a transparent election and that everyone should accept the results. It has been decided in the negotiations that these people will accept the results.
He said that he is grateful to PTI for having open-hearted negotiations, the purpose of negotiations was not to waste time, negotiations should continue and this is his suggestion. He said the government does not want to stay even an hour longer than its term but does not want elections at the cost of the country, no one should stay in office permanently be it you or us.
The Chief Justice remarked that the court is holding its hand because the conditions are not favorable, but elections are being held even during major wars, and even during the earthquake in Turkey.
SC has stopped taking suo motu notices
Addressing Saad Rafiq, CJP Bandial remarked: “It seems your words carry weight and you want the court to take suo motu notice. But we have stopped taking suo motu notices.”
The Chief Justice said that no one wants to raise a serious point except you, so far there is only talk of 4-3 verdict, and both parties should show flexibility. He said the court will neither instruct nor interfere in the negotiations, if the matter is not settled in a few days, then the court will see.
Qureshi rues govt’s anti-talk attitude
PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi told the court that the government has not said anything new but has repeated the old position. We have tried our best to make the negotiations successful, but it seems that the government is hell-bent on violating the court order.
The Chief Justice remarked that the court has read their position, adding that the action may be taken in another case, if interested, come to the negotiations again.
Qureshi said that the government is not showing flexibility as they were expecting. “We have sacrificed our two governments under the constitution. There is a decorum of negotiations. We are negotiating but they are arresting us. During the negotiations, the law minister said that it’s a 4-3 verdict,” Qureshi rued.
Then the Chief Justice remarked that today's court hearing has been completed, and the court will issue an appropriate order.
Govt submits its reply
Earlier, the government's negotiation committee submitted the report of its talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf to the Supreme Court.
The head of the committee, Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, through the Attorney General, submitted the report of the negotiations to the Supreme Court, in which it is said that the government allies and the opposition have agreed to hold elections on one date across the country.
According to the report, they are ready to restore the negotiation process in the best interest of the country. The PTI agreed to hold the election on the same date. There was positive progress in the negotiations between the parties on the issue of elections.
In the government report, it is further said that the date for the dissolution of the National Assembly and the rest of the provincial assemblies could not be agreed upon. The government allies showed flexibility in the negotiations. Apart from this, the premature dissolution of assemblies was also considered.
The court issued notices to the attorney general for Pakistan and others in the case.
The Election Commission of Pakistan submitted a petition seeking a review of the apex court's earlier order in which it had directed the commission to hold polls to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court released the written order of its April 27 hearing.
The apex court has made it clear that it maintains its order issued on April 4 regarding conducting of the election on May 14.
According to the written order, the apex court did not direct/instruct political parties to hold dialogue.
During its April 27 hearing, the Supreme Court requested the political parties to sit together for the sake of the Constitution and arrive at a consensus date for holding simultaneous elections across the country.
The PDM-led government and opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf held parleys to reach a consensus on the poll date.
The PTI on Wednesday submitted its reply to the Supreme Court regarding its negotiations with the government.
In its reply, the PTI requested the court to implement its April 4 order regarding conducting of polls on May 14.
It further said that the party agreed to the idea of holding simultaneous elections across the country with certain conditions, including that the National Assembly and the assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan should also be dissolved on or before May 14 so that nationwide polls could be held in July.
The PTI, however, said that the government did not come around and suggested the dissolution of the National Assembly and the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies on July 30, after which elections across the country would be held in 90 days, in the first week of October.
Reporter Amanat Gishkori