Pakistan’s Supreme Court will resume the hearing on Tuesday on the dismissal of a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan and the dissolution of Parliament by the President on the advice of the embattled premier, a day after adjourning the proceedings after promising to give a “reasonable order” in the high-profile case.
The apex court had taken a suo motu cognizance of the current political situation in the country.President Arif Alvi had dissolved the National Assembly (NA) on the advice of Prime Minister Khan, minutes after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected a no-confidence motion against the premier, who had effectively lost the majority in the 342-member lower house of Parliament on Sunday.Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said all orders and actions initiated by the prime minister and the president regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly would be subject to the court’s order.
On Monday, a larger bench of the apex court – comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail – took up the matter after Deputy Speaker Suri rejected the move to dislodge the prime minister by declaring the no-trust motion unmaintainable due to its link with a so-called foreign conspiracy.President Alvi, the Supreme Court Bar Association and all political parties have been made respondents in the case.Lawyers from the government and opposition presented their argument regarding the ruling by the deputy speaker.
