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Pak SC seeks record of no-confidence proceedings in Assembly, adjourns hearing
The Pakistan Supreme Court bench said it wanted to see if the deputy speaker Qasim Suri's ruling could be reviewed by the bench and will only decide the legitimacy of the action
Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the record of the proceedings of the national assembly on the no-confidence motion filed against Imran Khan, while adjourning the matter till Wednesday.
Chief justice Umar Ata Bandial said the top court wanted to ascertain the constitutionality of the steps taken by deputy speaker Qasim Suri who rejected the no-confidence motion, alleging it was linked to a foreign conspiracy and was not maintainable, news agency PTI quoted Express Tribune.
"Our sole focus is on the ruling of the deputy speaker…it is our priority to decide on that particular issue," Chief Justice Bandial said as per the newspaper. The bench is headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and includes justices Ijazul Ahsan, Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Munib Akhtar and Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
The bench said that it wanted to see if the deputy speaker's ruling could be reviewed by the bench and will only decide the legitimacy of the action. During the hearing, the opposition urged the top court to decide on the matter at the earliest. The bench assured that it would come up with the verdict after hearing arguments from both the government and the opposition.
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In case the verdict is in favour of Imran Khan, elections will be held within 90 days. But experts said that a decision against the prime minister would mean that the national assembly would reconvene and voting will take place on the no-confidence motion.
After the deputy speaker rejected the no-confidence motion, President Arif Alvi dissolved the national assembly on Imran Khan's recommendation. The decision was challenged by the opposition in the top court which said it would pass a reasonable order.
