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Tag: Supreme Court

  • ‘Return to April 3’: Twitter hails Supreme court’s verdict

    ‘Return to April 3’: Twitter hails Supreme court’s verdict

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has declared the National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on the dismissal of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as unconstitutional and illegal.

    The session chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and the five-member bench has unanimously ruled that President Dr Arif Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly is “illegal” and restored Imran Khan as Prime Minister as well as his cabinet ministers. They will now face the no-confidence motion on Saturday, April 9th 2022.

    This is how Pakistani social media reacted to the decision:

    https://twitter.com/furqanahmad75/status/1512095805678796811
  • ‘Unconstitutional’: What else did the Supreme Court say?

    ‘Unconstitutional’: What else did the Supreme Court say?

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has declared the National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on the dismissal of no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as unconstitutional and illegal.

    The session chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and the five-member bench has unanimously ruled that President Dr Arif Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly is “illegal” and restored Imran Khan as Prime Minister as well as his cabinet ministers. They will now face the no-confidence motion on Saturday April 9th 2022.

    “The deputy speaker gave a ruling on April 3. Leave was granted on the no-confidence motion on March 28. The ruling of the speaker is declared unconstitutional,” Justice Bandial declared.

    Chief Justice Bandial also said the verdict was announced with an unanimous agreement of 5-0 after the judges consulted each other.

    The apex court has also ordered a lower house session to vote on no-trust against PM Khan on April 9th, 2022 [Saturday] at 10 am, saying that the session cannot be adjourned without the conclusion of the no-trust motion and the government cannot interfere in the participation of any Member of National Assembly in the assembly session.

    Ahead of the verdict, SC summoned Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. Prior to the verdict, PM Khan called a party meeting at Banigala.

    The short order by the SC is as follows:

  • VIDEO: ‘Kiraye pay aatay hain’, Fawad Chaudhry’s heated phadda with journalist

    VIDEO: ‘Kiraye pay aatay hain’, Fawad Chaudhry’s heated phadda with journalist

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry, while speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday, lost his cool and called journalist Matiullah Jan “kiraye ka aadmi [ a hired man]. The statement of the former minister came as he was questioned about First Lady Bushra Bibi’s friend Farah Khan.

    Here is what happened.

    Fawad Chaudhry: “I will take questions later … Commando Saab one minute …. Statement of facts has been submitted by Prime Minister…”

    Matiullah can be heard speaking in the background, “Where did Farah Khan go? Why did she run away from the country?”

    READ MORE: Who’s Farah Khan, why is she the talk of the net?

    Fawad Chaudhry: “Yaar let me talk. Let me talk.” the journalist says let me ask one question, Fawad says, “This will not happen.”

    Matiullah Jan: “Where did Farah go?”

    Fawad Chaudhry: “I will talk first, and then you will speak.”

    Matiullah kept asking his questions and that’s when Fawad called him out and said, “Kiraye pay aatay hain is tarha kay loug, [People like him are hired].”

    Matiullah got angry at being called ” a hired man” and then said that it was actually Fawad who is a ‘kiraye ka tattu,” [a hired fool] and that’s when the heated argument geared up.

    https://youtu.be/hxraSNPtJJw
    Fawad and Matiullah abusing each other

    Though other journalists tried to settle the matter, both Fawad and Matiullah hurled continuous derogatory remarks and abusive words at each other.

    Fawad was asked to apologise but refused. His refusal to offer an apology ended up with journalists announcing that they are boycotting media talks of all PTI leaders.

  • Usman Mirza, four others sentenced to life in prison in couple harassment case

    Usman Mirza, four others sentenced to life in prison in couple harassment case

    An Islamabad district and sessions court has sentenced Usman Mirza and four others to life imprisonment in the case of harassment and assaulting of a couple in Islamabad. The four accomplices include Mohib Bangash, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Hafiz Ataur Rehman and Farhan Shaheen. Meanwhile, Umar Bilal and Rehan Hassan Mughal were acquitted.

    Judge Atta Rabbani announced the verdict.

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that despite the fact that the couple retracted their statements, the use of technology as evidence in the case is welcoming.

    Read more- Usman Mirza Case: Couple refuses to recognise accused persons, reportedly took one crore in deal

    The minister also added that justice will prevail in Sialkot and other cases too.

    The case was highlighted last year in July when a video of Usman Mirza harassing a couple went viral on social media. Mirza was arrested on July 7 after the disturbing video went viral on social media where he could be seen torturing and assaulting a couple. He was also seen stripping the woman in the video. On January 11, the female victim refused to identify any of the accused and said she does not want to pursue the case, after which the state decided to pursue prosecution.

  • ‘The battle should be fought inside Assembly’: SC

    ‘The battle should be fought inside Assembly’: SC

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard a plea filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Monday about the lawful proceeding of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly (NA).

    During the hearing, which was attended by three bigwigs of the Opposition — PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, SCBA counsel argued that NA Speaker Asad Qaiser summoned the session 17 days after the submission of the no-confidence motion. However, according to Article 95, the session has to be called within 14 days.

    He further argued that the no-confidence motion could not be adjourned before voting. To this, CJ observed that it is an “internal matter” and it would be “better if the assembly’s fight is fought inside the assembly”.

    Justice Bandial further remarked that the court will not interfere in the assembly’s proceedings.

    Moreover, SC said that no one can be prevented from voting by bringing people. About the upcoming marches, the court added that the Opposition will keep the same distance as the government’s from parliament.

    According to the SC, a member’s individual vote has no “status”. Justice Munib Akhtar said after joining a political party, a member’s vote is considered a “collective” right.

    The petition, which was filed by SCBA says circumstances involving a confrontation between the government and the Opposition could trigger an “anarchic situation” in the country.

    About the recent Sindh House attack, Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Qazi Jamilur Rehman gave the incident’s briefing to the court.

    Chief Justice Bandial remarked that what happened at the Sindh House did “not seem to be the police’s failure”.

    “The main issue is related to stopping Members of National Assembly (MNAs) from voting,” he said.

    Before the hearing, Bilawal Bhutto avoided making any political statement. Meanwhile, Maulana Fazl said that it is the first time that he is appearing before the SC.

    “This government is illegitimate. Do you want to create sympathy for such an incompetent government,” Fazl asked.

  • Fawad Chaudhry says govt to file reference in SC for interpretation of Article 63 (A)

    Fawad Chaudhry says govt to file reference in SC for interpretation of Article 63 (A)

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday that the government would file a reference in the Supreme Court, asking it to interpret Article 63 (A) of the Constitution.

    The minister took to Twitter and in a series of tweets said, “The Supreme Court will be asked about the legal status of the vote of party members when they are clearly involved in horse-trading and changed their loyalties in exchange for money.”

    Fawad said that the government would seek the apex court’s guidance on whether a person, who shifts loyalty for monetary benefit, should be ineligible for lifetime to become a lawmaker or whether they could contest polls again and be elected to parliament.

    “The Supreme Court will be requested to hear the case on a daily basis,” he said.

    Fawad’s words come a day after several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, who were staying at the Sindh House in Islamabad, revealed that they were in the Opposition camp now.

    Article 65-A

    According to Article 63 (A) of the Constitution, a parliamentarian can be disqualified on grounds of defection if he “votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, in relation to election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or a money bill or a Constitution (amendment) bill”.

    The article says that the party head has to declare in writing that the MNA concerned has defected but before making the declaration, the party head will “provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him”.

    After giving the member a chance to explain their reasons, the party head will forward the declaration to the speaker, who will forward it to the chief election commissioner (CEC). The CEC will then have 30 days to confirm the declaration. If confirmed by the CEC, the member “shall cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant”.

    The government has already indicated that it will use Article 63 (A) to “crush” the no-confidence motion against PM Imran.

  • Supreme Court orders to open Monal restaurant in Islamabad

    Supreme Court orders to open Monal restaurant in Islamabad

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered to reopen Monal restaurant in Islamabad and suspended the previous order by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

    At the hearing on Tuesday, Judge Mazahir Naqvi suspended the IHC order which was issued to close down the popular eatery spot.

    The judge asked angrily, “What is this monarchy?”

    “How can the orders be implemented before the documents were even signed,” he asked.

    The restaurant lawyer, Makhdoom Ali Khan, raised the point in the last hearing that the eatery spot was closed down before written documents were issued by the high court.

    He argued that the legal dispute between the Monal and Capital Development Authority (CDA) is still ongoing in civil court.

    He continued that the IHC announced the verdict without recording evidence. Monal restaurant was not even involved as a party in the case.

    On January 11, IHC ordered Islamabad’s Chief Commissioner to seal the Monal Restaurant in Margalla Hills National Park and Navy Golf Course after hearing a case against encroachments.

  • Faisal Vawda challenges lifelong disqualification in Supreme Court

    Faisal Vawda challenges lifelong disqualification in Supreme Court

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Vawda on Friday challenged his lifelong disqualification in the Supreme Court. Vawda was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a dual nationality case. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday dismissed Vawda’s plea challenging his disqualification by the ECP.

    Vawda has now filed an appeal in the apex court. The appeal states that the ECP did not have the power to disqualify him for life and that the electoral watchdog was not a competent court of law.

    Faisal Vawda’s appeal was filed by his lawyer, Advocate Wasim Sajjad.

    Earlier this month, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Vawda as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and ordered him to withdraw the notification appointing him as senator for concealing his dual nationality.

    Later, the PTI leader approached the IHC. In his appeal, he stated that Section 8C of the Elections Act, 2017 allowed the ECP to conduct an election but did not empower it to disqualify a candidate. According to him, the commission was directed by the court to “probe the issue of falsity or otherwise of the affidavit expeditiously as per a judgement of the Supreme Court”.

  • Monal restaurant management breaks closure seal to enter premises

    Monal restaurant management breaks closure seal to enter premises

    Monal, a restaurant in Islamabad, which was sealed through a court order, was broken into on Wednesday. Management of the restaurant, which included 70-80 employees, broke a padlock seal and entered the premises of the site on February 16, reports Samaa News.

    Employees reached the site in the morning and asked the Wildlife department workers not to intervene.

    While talking to Samaa News, a Wildlife management board representative, monitoring the closure, said, “They told us that the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the restaurant and allowed them to resume activities.”

    The authorities asked restaurant employees to produce a court order but they refused and broke the padlock seal into pieces.

    After breaking into the restaurant, employees started adjusting seats and tables.

    According to the representative, they had never stopped the restaurant staff to look after their items which were left there and we cooperated with them fully.

    On January 11, Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered Islamabad’s Chief Commissioner to seal the Monal Restaurant in Margalla Hills National Park.

  • Court reserves decision on PTI’s Faisal Vawda’s appeal against lifetime disqualification

    Court reserves decision on PTI’s Faisal Vawda’s appeal against lifetime disqualification

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its decision on the maintainability of an application filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Faisal Vawda against his lifetime disqualification from parliament, reports Dawn.

    Last week, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Vawda as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and ordered him to withdraw the notification appointing him as senator for concealing his dual nationality.

    Later, the PTI leader approached the IHC. In his appeal, he stated that Section 8C of the Elections Act, 2017 allowed the ECP to conduct an election but did not empower it to disqualify a candidate. According to him, the commission was directed by the court to “probe the issue of falsity or otherwise of the affidavit expeditiously as per a judgment of the Supreme Court (SC)”.

    The commission said Vawda had submitted a “false affidavit” when submitting nomination papers. However, Vawda’s lawyer, Wasim Sajjad argued in the court that his client [Vawda] did not submit a false affidavit.

    Sajjad maintained that Vawda cancelled his United States (US) passport and acquired a certificate from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and said that he [Vawda] is only a Pakistani citizen.

    Vawda secured the National Assembly seat (NA-249) in July 2018 and got elected as a Senator last year.

    As per the commission, Vawda can approach the Supreme Court (SC) against its verdict.