Islamabad (Web Desk): The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday resumed hearing on the suo motu notice taken by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on the legality of the current situation in the country following the dismissal of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan by National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and the subsequent dissolution of the NA by President Arif Alvi on the prime minister's advice.
On Sunday, the SC had taken suo motu notice regarding current political situation which emerged after President Dr Arif Alvi’s decision to dissolve National Assembly.
A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Omar Atta Bindiyal, Justice Aijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the suo-moto notice and later adjourned the hearing till today.
The court issued notices to political parties Interior and Defence Secretaries.
The apex court rejected a request to suspend the deputy speaker's ruling and issued a notice to Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Khalid Jawed Khan to discuss the "constitutionality of the [deputy speaker's] decision" to dismiss the no-trust motion on the basis of Article 5 of the Constitution.
Article 5 obliges every citizen to be obedient to the Constitution and law and says that "loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen".
In its written order, the court further observed that "prima facie, there is neither a finding recorded in the matter nor was a hearing granted to the affected party" as far as the deputy speaker's ruling is concerned.
However, the deputy speaker, in his detailed four-page ruling issued by the National Assembly Secretariat on Sunday evening, declared a “foreign state was interfering in the internal affairs of Pakistan and Prime Minister Imran Khan was its primary target”.
The deputy speaker dismissed the no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it a contradiction of Article 5 of the Constitution.
The session started with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri chaired the session.
As the session started, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry termed the no-confidence motion a foreign conspiracy to change the regime in Pakistan.
Suri said the resolution could not be voted upon as it was allegedly supported by a foreign power. He also adjourned the session indefinitely.
Later, on the advise of Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Alvi dissolve assemblies.
In an address to the nation, soon after NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed no-trust move against the premier, PM Imran said that he had advised President Alvi to dissolve assemblies.
A joint petition, filed by the PPP, PML-N and JUI-F through Farooq H. Naek, Azam Nazir Tarar and Kamran Murtaza, has also requested the apex court to declare the ruling of the deputy speaker, as well as the advice of the prime minister to the president to dissolve the National
Assembly and the subsequent dissolution of the assembly as illegal and unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court on the constitutional crisis.
The constitutional petition filed by SCBA states that a voting of no-confidence motion was a must, and the speaker cannot cancel the voting by a ruling.
It was further noted that the deputy speaker’s ruling contradicts Article 95(2). It further said that according to Article 58(1) the premier cannot even “advise dissolution of the assembly,” once the no-confidence motion is filed against him/her.
