ISLAMABAD , April 6, 2023: Federal Minister of Law Nazir Tarar has expressed his apprehension that the country will plunge deeper into political and constitutional crisis if full court is not made [on the issue of delay in elections].
Talking to the international media here on Thursday, the minister said that the general elections should be held in the center and province simultaneously. The Constitution provides that the Election Commission is responsible for holding elections. There is a procedure laid down in the Constitution for holding the elections, he added.
Tarar said that the federal cabinet has expressed its reservations on the decision of the Supreme Court, and added that the minority decision should not be implemented.
He said legal deliberations were ongoing on the suo motu notice of the Supreme Court.
He said that the Punjab Assembly was dissolved in a controversial manner. The issue of dissolution of the assembly was already pending before the Lahore High Court, the governor did not sign the summary sent to him and after 48 hours the assembly was automatically dissolved, he added.
Regarding the nine-member bench of the Supreme Court which took up elections dispute in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on suo motu notice of the chief justice, he said two judges expressed their opinion on the formation of the bench while two judges recused themselves from hearing.
Tarar pleaded again that the chief justice paid no heed to the government’s request for full court to hear case.
He said that petitions were pending in the KP and Punjab high courts. There were security concerns in the provinces. The court did not even hear the stand of any political party. If full court was not made, political and constitutional crisis would become severe, he concluded.