If everything is according to the constitution then where is the constitutional crisis: Chief Justice

The Supreme Court hearing has resumed in the National Assembly on the Speaker's rolling motion to reject the no-confidence motion of the United Opposition against the Prime Minister.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Omar Ata Bandial while hearing the suo motu notice case on Deputy Speaker Rowling said that the law is that the court will decide the merits of parliamentary proceedings.

He said the court would look into the extent of the proceedings.

On this occasion, lawyer Imtiaz Siddiqui said that the opposition did not object to the presidency of the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Speaker decided what he thought was best.

He said that he was not accountable to the court for the decision taken by the Deputy Speaker in the session of Parliament.

"If the speaker knows that there has been foreign funding or that the country's integrity is at stake, he will save the country by going beyond the law."

He said that the Speaker had made a good decision as per his oath and this was an internal matter of Parliament as a whole.

Court asks parliament to clean up its own mess: President's lawyer

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has said that by calling for elections in Pakistan, the country is left helpless for 90 days.

He said that the Prime Minister was working on the instructions of President Dr. Arif Alvi.

Justice Ejaz-ul-Haq asked, "If a coalition government is formed, is it possible for the largest party to be walled off?"

Imtiaz Siddiqui, counsel for the President, said that the proceedings of the House were beyond the jurisdiction of the judiciary and therefore the court asked the Parliament to clean up its own mess.

Where is the constitutional crisis ?: Chief Justice

During the hearing of the suo motu notice in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice asked Barrister Ali Zafar why he did not explain the constitutional crisis.

The Chief Justice said, "If everything is going according to the constitution, then where is the constitutional crisis?"

Barrister Ali Zafar said that his request is that there is no constitutional crisis in the country.

He said the announcement of the election showed that the government's move was not malicious.

Justice Jamal Mandokhel said that if the majority of the assembly does not want dissolution, can the Prime Minister recommend to the President?

However, Justice Ejaz-ul-Hassan said that despite the deviant members, PTI is the majority party.

"What if the majority party gets out of the system?"

Barrister Ali Zafar said that he could not answer the political issue as a lawyer.

'You address this issue'

Ali Zafar, counsel for the President, while referring to the decision of Junejo case, said that the government of Muhammad Khan Junejo was overthrown and the court declared the overthrow of Junejo government unconstitutional.

However, he said that the court did not touch on the steps taken after the dissolution of the assembly.

Justice Mazhar Alam said the matter before this bench was a matter of no-confidence, as the rolling came after a vote of no-confidence.

He asked Ali Zafar to address the issue.

Ali Zafar said that even in the current situation, the Assembly has been dissolved and elections have been declared which is the best solution.

Speaking to media outside the Supreme Court, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the united opposition was saying that the deputy speaker had violated the constitution and left the no-confidence motion process incomplete.

"In our opinion, the speaker has full power of rolling and his decision is final," he said.

Who is the Prime Minister who decides the no-confidence vote: Chief Justice

During the hearing of Deputy Speaker Rowling's suo motu notice, Chief Justice Omar Ata Bandial said that if the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister had been voted on April 3, it would have been known who the Prime Minister is.

Barrister Ali Zafar said that the court can review the formation of the government and dissolution of the assembly but the court cannot review both the election of the Prime Minister and the no-confidence motion.

He said that if the parliament failed then the matter would go to the people.

He said that every article of the constitution has to be taken into consideration for its protection.

On this, the Chief Justice said that if the abuse is from the entire House instead of one member, what will happen?

Ali Zafar said that if there is a difference of opinion among the judges, can the parliament intervene?

" Just as parliament cannot intervene, so can the judiciary."

The Chief Justice inquired whether the formation of the federal government was an internal matter of Parliament.

Isn't the Prime Minister the representative of the whole nation?

Barrister Ali Zafar, the president's lawyer, said the best solution to the current situation was to go for elections.

Justice Jamal Mandokhel asked whether the Prime Minister is not a representative of the whole nation.

Barrister Ali Zafar replied that the Prime Minister was undoubtedly the representative of the people.

Justice Mazhar Alam asked how there would be protection if the constitution was violated in the parliament.

He also said that the court is not the guardian of the constitution and if anyone is affected by the parliamentary proceedings then how will justice be done?

Barrister Ali Zafar said that the protection of the constitution can only be in accordance with the constitution.

'This bench of the Supreme Court will only look into matters relating to the National Assembly'

At the beginning of the hearing in the Supreme Court, Advocate General Punjab mentioned the election of Hamza Shahbaz as the Chief Minister at the Fletchers Hotel in Lahore last night.

On this, Chief Justice Omar Ata Bandial said that this bench could not look into the incidents taking place in Punjab, it was the job of Lahore High Court.

He said that this bench of the Supreme Court would only look into matters relating to the National Assembly.

Advocate General Punjab said that after becoming the Chief Minister, Hamza Shahbaz will be sworn in at Jinnah Garden today.

"The constitution and the law are trivial for them," he said.

We need justice: Sherry Rehman

Talking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, PPP leader Sherry Rehman said that the entire country has been suspended for the last five days.

"We need justice," he said.

Sherry Rehman said that "the high court will decide and will make the right decision, which will be in favor of the people and the constitution."

The hearing of the suo motu notice has started in the Supreme Court.

A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan is hearing the case.

The larger bench comprises Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Mazhar Alam Mian Khel and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel.

If decisions are to be obtained through rigging, then there will be civil war: Fawad Chaudhry

What happened at Wednesday's hearing?

Following the rejection of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly, PTI lawyer Babar Awan sought an in-camera briefing in the Supreme Court's suo motu notice hearing on Wednesday, which was rejected.

The Chief Justice had said on the arguments of the PTI lawyer that there were apparent allegations in the rolling of the Deputy Speaker and there was no finding.

"Can the speaker give such a roll call without revealing the facts?" He asked. This is the constitutional point on which the court has to decide.

Arguments of lawyers of PTI and President of Pakistan were also heard in the hearing.

(independent urdu)