Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday said President Arif Alvi was constitutionally bound to sign the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill, 2023 which has been passed by both the houses of the Parliament.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the minister said the bill passed by the National Assembly and Senate was pending with President Dr. Arif Alvi for the last four days.
The president should fulfill his constitutional duty and sign the bill as required by the Constitution, he added.
On the occasion, he also recalled the unconstitutional steps taken by the PTI leadership at the time their ouster from power.
As regards the suo motu case regarding polls’ delay in Punjab, Tarar reiterated demand for a full court bench of the Supreme Court to decide upon the matter. Collective wisdom was needed be utilized to resolve the looming constitutional and prevailing economic and political crisis.
He regretted that the suo motu proceedings which initiated with nine-member have been relegated to three-member. Justice Mandokhail, one of the senior judge at the bench, recused himself from hearing the case.
If a three-member bench announced the verdict in the election case whether it would be acceptable to the nation or implementable, the minister questioned.
He was of the view that general elections across the country should be held simultaneously for the sake of political and economic stability.The ECP had postponed the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa keeping in view the security, political and economic challenges faced by Pakistan at this juncture.
Tarar said Article 224 asked for the general elections at the same time across the country, adding that as per Article 254 polls could be postponed due to the extraordinary situation.
“The ECP has the mandate to adjust the schedule of the election keeping in view the ground realities” he added. He was of the view that the election commission had announced the date of the election in October after hearing all the stakeholders.
“There were several examples in the past when elections were postponed due to certain reasons,” the law minister added.
The minister said two provincial assemblies were dissolved by PTI-led governments in Jan this year just to satisfy the ego of one person – PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
