Pakistan Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Imran Khan on Thursday when it set aside the deputy speaker’s ruling to dismiss the no-trust resolution against the Prime Minister and the subsequent dissolution of the NA by the president on the PM’s advice.
Dawn reported that ll five judges unanimously voted 5-0 against it. The apex court ruled that President Dr. Arif Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly was “illegal” and restored Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as his cabinet.
The Supreme Court ordered for the session of the National Assembly to reconvene on Saturday at 10:30 am. saying that the session cannot be adjourned without the conclusion of the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The court further said that the government could not interfere in the participation of any MNA in the assembly session.
The verdict was to be announced at 7:30 pm but it was subject to an hour’s delay. In anticipation of the verdict, security was beefed up at the SC premises with television footage showing riot police deployed outside the apex court.
A large number of lawyers, media personnel, and politicians, including PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif and PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, were at the court ahead of the verdict.
Advocate Farooq H Naek, who represented the PPP in the case, was questioned by the media on what verdict he was expecting.
He said he expected the deputy speaker’s ruling to be set aside. “The same way, [on the basis of] national importance, it seems that they (the judges) will suggest that the election process has begun [so they should be allowed to continue],” Naek added.
A five-member bench headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail finished hearing the case earlier in the day.
Earlier, during the hearing, CJP Bandial said that it was clear that the April 3 ruling of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, which dismissed the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, was erroneous.
“The real question at hand is what happens next,” he said, adding that now the PML-N counsel and the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan would guide the court on how to proceed.
“We have to look at national interest,” he said, adding that the court would issue a verdict today.
