Islamabad: In a case challenging the election of the chief minister of Punjab, the coalition partners of the PML-N government have said they will not attend court proceedings.
During a news conference on Monday night with coalition members in attendance, including Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, made the announcement.
After the government's request to form a full court bench to hear the arguments regarding the election of the Chief Minister of Punjab was denied by a three-member bench made up of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar, the coalition parties decided to boycott the court's proceedings.
Leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi filed the appeal on Sunday evening in opposition to the decision of the Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly to disqualify the ten PML-Q votes cast in favour of Imran Khan's candidate for chief minister on the grounds that they went against Chaudhry Shujat Hussain's instructions. Mazari had rejected the votes cast by PML-Q MPs by invoking Article 63-A of the Constitution.
During the hearing on Monday, the top court first denied the coalition government's request for the creation of a full court bench to hear the plea of Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi.
The coalition government's request for the formation of a full bench was denied, and the top court announced its decision by requesting additional arguments and legal clarification.
Umar Ata Bandial, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), stated that the court needed more information before deciding whether to constitute a full court.
CJP Bandial said that a full court had previously been convened in a case of the utmost significance and noted that a full bench might convene in cases involving complicated issues.
Similar to match-fixing, bench-fixing is illegal. Maryam criticises the judiciary before the SC hearing on the Punjab CM election
Maryam Nawaz, vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), highlighted her concerns about the dual standards of the judiciary in cases against the PML-N, its coalition partners, and PTI on Monday.
Leading members of the alliance, including Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Khalid Magsi, Mohsin Dawar, and Aimal Wali Khan, spoke at a dramatic press conference she addressed before the Supreme Court of Pakistan heard a lawsuit challenging the election of the Punjab chief minister.
After PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi challenged Hamza Shahbaz's election at the supreme court, a three-judge panel made up of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Muneeb reduced Hamza Shahbaz's authority as chief minister last week. The top court stated that it appears that Dost Mohammad Mazari's decision to reject the PML-10 Q's votes was improper on its face.
As she suspected a biassed ruling in the Punjab CM election case, Maryam Nawaz highlighted her concerns about the three-member bench. She argued that bench-fixing was a felony equivalent to match-fixing and demanded that the chief judge convene the whole court bench to hear the petition.
She said that an entire case may be blown up with one poor choice and that institutions are attacked from inside, not from the outside. Rights judgments don't invite criticism, she said.
Maryam claimed that PTI leaders have frequently contacted the Supreme Court ever since Hamza was appointed chief minister.
In reference to the PTI's case filed on July 22 challenging the election of the chief minister, Maryam claimed that party members had broken into the Lahore registry office of the Supreme Court and that it had been left open late that night to assist PTI.
She noted that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had been dismissed due to an unfounded Iqama case, and she added that the court had constituted joint investigation teams against the PML-N for the first time in Pakistan's history.
She emphasised, "I was thrown in the death cell, but Imran Khan's sister was asked to pay a fee and get out," and said the top court also ended several lawsuits against the PTI government, including BRT.
In support of Maryam Nawaz's remarks, Fazlur Rahaman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and other coalition members urged that a full court bench hear the petition challenging the election of the Punjab chief executive.
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