CB sets aside objections to rigging petitions
A constitutional bench (CB) of the Supreme Court on Friday set aside the objections raised by the court's registrar office to the petitions, seeking the formation of a judicial commission to launch a probe into the allegations that the February 8, 2024 general elections were highly rigged.
One of the members of the bench, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, however, asked counsel for a petitioner as to how the court could constitute a judicial commission when a forum — election tribunals — was available to address elections complaints.
A five-member CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan on Friday took up the petitions filed under Article 183 (3) by various petitioners including former prime minister Imran Khan and PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat along with the objections raised to them by the SC registrar office.
As the hearing began, Justice Aminuddin Khan asked Imran's counsel Hamid Khan, who appeared via video link, whether he had submitted a reply. Hamid Khan responded that he had submitted a reply along with additional documents, including details from the Quetta lawyers' blast inquiry commission.
Justice Khan remarked that the court had taken suo motu notice of that matter at the time "but now it seems the authority to take suo motu notice may no longer exist".
Hamid Khan replied that the decision of the ten-member bench in the Memo Commission case is also available, which involved substantial legal discussion.
Justice Jamal Mandokhail noted that in both the Memogate and Quetta lawyers' incident cases, no alternate judicial forums were available. He questioned how a constitutional bench could create a new forum when alternatives already exist.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar asked Khan as to how many election petitions were currently pending in the election tribunals. "If your argument is accepted then the entire process will come to a halt and all election tribunal cases will have to be nullified," he said.
Subsequently, after consultation, the CB set aside the objections raised by the registrar office and directed it to assign numbers to the petitions. The case was adjourned for an indefinite period.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
JCP to review tenure of constitutional benches
A crucial meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), chaired by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, will be held on June 19 in the Supreme Court building. The meeting will discuss extending the tenure of constitutional benches. The matter was last addressed in the commission's session on December 21, 2024, where a majority approved a six-month extension for the nominated judges of the Supreme Court's constitutional benches. At present, 15 judges have been working for the constitutional benches. Among them, a committee led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazahar selects judges for the particular constitutional benches. Extension of constitutional benches has been proposed for the second time. The federal government on December 21 managed to get its way at the JCP which had rejected a suggestion to nominate all Supreme Court judges to its Constitutional Bench (CB) by a majority vote of 7 to 6. Except Justice Aminuddin, all JCP's judicial members namely CJP Yahya Afridi, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail had voted for all the Supreme Court judges to be part of the CB. Two PTI members Barrister Gahar Ali Khan and Barrister Ali Zafar supported their view. However, the government as well as the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) representatives in JCP did not support their suggestion. The judicial members had faced embarrassment, when their own fellow judge, Justice Aminuddin Khan, did not support their suggestion. The JCP by majority 7 to 6 endorsed the extension of the CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan for six months. Once again it is being expected that the government will be successful to get majority votes for the extension of present CB, which performance is under question. There is no objective criteria for the selection of judges for CB. Performance of CB The present CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan has been able to issue only three reported judgement since it's creation through 26th constitutional amendment. The CB had issued first reported judgement in January. This two-page decision was related to the jurisdiction of CB itself. The order had held that regular benches could not hear matters related to the interpretation of law and constitution. Secondly, reported short order has been passed in military courts case. Likewise, another reported judgement was authored by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail. Lawyers are wondering as who will judge the performance of the constitutional bench. They are also raising question that why Justice Mandokhail is not being given independent CB. A lawyer says that the CB started by spending two months studiously avoiding the 26th Amendment case in favour of hearing cases of no importance which had already become infructuous. "It followed that by spending four months almost exclusively on the military courts case before passing a verdict which must surely have pleased the establishment. The only other order of note it passed in that period was to ensure that no regular bench of the Supreme Court could hear any case of importance. "Next, it took up the reserved seats review case in which most of the original judges were excluded and the few who were included seemed to have suddenly, and inexplicably, become of the opposite view from day one", says the lawyer. He said that when the idea of a CB elected by politicians was first floated; many said such a bench was fundamentally against the idea of judicial independence and predicted it would reduce the credibility of the SC to nothing. Nonetheless, judges in Pakistan have sometimes defied predictions. 'Unfortunately, the CB's performance thus far has proved this is not one of those times.' He also said that the stated rationale of the CB at the time of the 26th Amendment was to improve the constitutional jurisprudence of the SC. In its first six months, the number of detailed judgments it has issued can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And all of them have tended to take out jurisprudence backwards and closer to the desires of the establishment,' he adds.
Express Tribune
18 hours ago
- Express Tribune
PTI tears into 'elite-driven' budget
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rejected the federal budget 2025-26 both inside and outside the National Assembly on Tuesday, calling it an "IMF-dictated budget" that lacks public legitimacy and launching a two-pronged attack: an aggressive protest on the assembly floor and a pointed press conference soon after. The finance minister's second consecutive budget speech kicked off under fire, with the opposition benches erupting into noisy protest from the get-go. As Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb began unveiling the budget, PTI lawmakers rose to their feet, banged budget books on their desks, blew whistles, and held up posters calling for the release of former prime minister Imran Khan. Throughout the presentation, they chanted slogans against the government, branding the budget illegitimate and anti-people. Undeterred by the uproar, the finance minister pressed on, while treasury members donned headphones to tune out the opposition's noise. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who entered the house amid the commotion, remained seated and unflinching, as ruling party lawmakers formed a protective cordon around him to avoid any direct clash with the protesting members. Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan led from the front, setting the tone for a coordinated protest and ensuring every PTI lawmaker played their part. Remaining on his feet throughout the session, he repeatedly slammed the budget book on his desk and signalled to fellow members to stay engaged. Lawmakers tore papers and flung them into the air at intervals. After the initial outburst, opposition members moved en masse toward the area between the speaker's desk and the prime minister's seat, continuing their chorus of slogans without letting up. The disruption echoed the tense scenes from last year's budget session, when the finance minister's maiden speech faced an equally turbulent reception from PTI-turned-Sunni Ittehad Council lawmakers. Then as now, the protests included loud chanting, desk-slamming, paper-tearing and close proximity to the PM's seat, prompting treasury members to act as a human shield. Shortly after the session, senior PTI leaders, including NA opposition leader Omar Ayub, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Leader of Opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz, addressed a joint press conference, reiterating their categorical rejection of the budget. "This is not a people's budget; it's an IMF budget designed to serve elite interests," the opposition leader said. Ayub questioned the government's economic claims, particularly the projected GDP growth of 2.7%, and sarcastically asked: "Who counted the donkeys and did they differentiate between the four-legged and two-legged ones?" He dismissed the budget as detached from reality, pointing to deepening inequality, inflation and declining industrial output. PTI information secretary was more scathing, calling the budget "economic gallows" for the people, saying it was not a budget for the nation rather a public execution plan. He further said that PTI considers this a "Leela budget" - implying the budget is a farce that ultimately sacrifices common people like goats at slaughter while the elite's interests are protected. He questioned the logic behind token relief for the salaried class and warned that the development allocations were unrealistic and insincere. Opposition leader in the Senate, Shibli Faraz, added that the government had broken all previous records of elitist budgeting. The opposition leader in the Senate said that budgets have been made for the ruling class for decades, but this year's budget has broken all previous records of elite budgeting. Criticising the government, Faraz said: "When such legislation and budget-making takes place in Parliament, it is not just undemocratic but hostile to the country's interest." Faraz also noted that the Afghan currency had appreciated more than the Pakistani rupee, calling it an indicator of the government's failure. "When a government comes to power through Form-47s, it lacks the trust needed for serious reform," he said, warning that economic manipulation without legitimacy would not bring progress. Addressing the media, Faraz condemned the government's handling of inflation and taxation, particularly for salaried individuals. He remarked that the salaried class was being relentlessly squeezed, stating, "as much blood as can be drawn from them is being drawn." He questioned how a country could progress while functioning on what he described as "IMF crutches". Faraz also criticised the state's response to peaceful demands from government employees, noting that when government workers began protesting for their rights, the entire Red Zone of Islamabad was sealed off. "Those who ask for their lawful rights are treated as if they are doing something wrong," he said. PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja described the document as one that "makes the rich richer and the poor poorer," saying the salaried class and poor people were burdened further. All leaders also reiterated their demand for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, describing their incarceration as illegal and politically motivated. They called the ongoing legislative process illegitimate and demanded the restoration of constitutional order, public mandate and rule of law. Earlier, the protest in the assembly followed a detailed strategy discussion in PTI's parliamentary party meeting, held hours before the session. The party rejected the 2025-26 budget outright, terming it a continuation of policies dictated by the IMF. Lawmakers reiterated their stance that the current government had no mandate to present the budget, arguing that it was formed through manipulated election results and did not reflect the will of the people. In its official statement, the PTI parliamentary party declared that the government had no legal or moral authority to legislate on behalf of the public. "This is an IMF budget, not a people's budget," the party said, vowing to resist its passage at every forum, including both the National Assembly and Senate. It condemned the economic hardships faced by ordinary citizens, stating that while the poor were crushed under inflation, the ruling elite continued their lavish lifestyles unchecked. The party also expressed strong disapproval of NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq's conduct, accusing him of acting as a partisan figure rather than a neutral custodian of the House. Lawmakers demanded that the speaker act according to his constitutional role rather than serving party interests. It was also decided in the meeting that a privileged motion would be moved if opposition speeches continued to be censored on national broadcasts. PTI lawmakers further resolved to raise the issue of media blackout on their speeches in the assembly and to protest outside if necessary.
Business Recorder
19 hours ago
- Business Recorder
KP budget to be ‘tax-free', ‘pro-poor': CM
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has announced that the upcoming provincial budget will be tax-free, with no new taxes imposed on the public. In a statement here on Tuesday, Gandapur said that budget planning was done in consultation with former Prime Minister and PTI founder Imran Khan. He affirmed that KP has not taken any new loans and has allocated Rs150 billion for debt repayment. Highlighting development goals, Gandapur revealed that work was underway on mega projects including the Dera Motorway. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
