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HomeWorldSetback for Pakistan PM Imran Khan in SC, to face no-trust vote...

Setback for Pakistan PM Imran Khan in SC, to face no-trust vote Saturday

The Opposition wants the dissolved Parliament to be restored, and has assured the court it has the numbers to protect the Constitution.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled Thursday that it was unconstitutional of the National Assembly deputy speaker to disallow a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan last weekend.

The top court ordered National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to summon a session at 10 am Saturday to allow the vote of no-confidence against Khan.

The court ruled: “If the no-confidence motion against the prime minister succeeds, then the assembly will appoint the new prime minister.”

A five-member bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, delivered the verdict after five consecutive days of hearing out the Opposition, who are ready with the numbers to dethrone Khan.

During arguments Thursday afternoon, the Supreme Court had noted that Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s decision to disallow the no-trust vote was, prima facie, a violation of Article 95 of the Constitution.

Chief Justice Bandial had said the court would take into account the country’s “national interest” and “practical possibilities” before deciding on the final verdict.

After the no-confidence motion tabled by the Opposition was dismissed Sunday, President Arif Alvi – on Imran Khan’s advice – dissolved the National Assembly paving way for fresh elections.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the dissolution of the National Assembly was also unconstitutional.

It said: “The prime minister did not have the right to advise the president to dissolve the assembly… all the decisions made till date have been nullified.”

Leader of Opposition Shahbaz Sharif had said earlier that Parliament should be restored if the apex court ruled Suri’s decision was “erroneous”.

“The no-confidence motion against Imran Khan will automatically be restored once the apex court rules out the deputy speaker,” Sharif had said.

The Opposition assured the court it had the numbers to protect the Constitution. Sharif further said Pakistan’s political stability was inter-connected with its Constitution.

According to Pakistan’s ARY News, Khan held a meeting with his legal team in the afternoon and told them the PTI would accept any verdict.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was in a precarious position before the vote Sunday after two key allies abruptly pulled out from the ruling coalition, taking along several disgruntled PTI lawmakers. The overwhelming grouse against Khan is the deepening economic crisis in the country.

The Pakistan prime minister has accused the United States of trying to unseat him, in complicity with Pakistan’s main Opposition.


Also read: Praise for Imran, blame for India – how Chinese experts spin crises in Pakistan, Sri Lanka


 

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