LAHORE: The PML-N demands that a larger or full bench should hear the plea in the Punjab chief minister case.

Railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafique said on Saturday the political coalition had demanded that a full bench should hear the Supreme Court Bar Association’s review petition for the interpretation of Article 63-A. He said the article had been wrongly interpreted so far.

“One-sided decision will not lead the country to economic stability and election,” he said while addressing the demonstrators at Liberty roundabout.

Rafique warned PTI chairman Imran Khan should stop abusing and hurling threats at politicians, judiciary, election commission and army otherwise, he (Imran) would keep running from pillar to post. “Parliament is supreme and no force should drag or dictate it,” he asserted.

Earlier, Punjab Home Minister Attaullah Tarar demanded: “The judges who heard the case of the chief minister poll last had a particular opinion and precisely for this reason it’s necessary that either a larger or full bench should hear it now.”

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said justice could not have double standards. If 25 MPAs of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) were de-seated on the basis of a reference sent by the party head against them, why not now?

“Where is the proof that these 25 members were directed to vote for Parvez Elahi,” asked the minister. He insisted that the success of the PML-N in election for the chief minister was in accordance with law and Constitution. On Friday, he said, the deputy speaker read out the votes tally of the previous election for the chief minister’s office. He read out from the Assembly record that Parvez Elahi got zero votes, and at that time neither the PML-Q nor the PTI disputed that statement, as they had boycotted the elections. “These are important questions and must be answered,” he demanded.

The political parties, which had been creating constitutional crisis for the last four months, must explain why did they move court today. In case of Nawaz Sharif, it was clarified that a party head had unlimited powers. All past cases and present matters of de-seating of 25 members required a full bench, Tarar said. PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal and Talal Chaudhry also held press conferences and criticised Imran Khan for maligning the institutions.

“Imran Khan is trying to spread anarchy and thriving on confrontation but the PML-N does not want to be part of any political showdown which will only complicate national problems,” said Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal.

He said the PML-N and its coalition parties played a responsible role to save the economy. “It is Imran Khan who had pushed the country to the brink of economic precipice. When the coalition government took over, the exchequer was exhausted. For the first time in the country’s history, the Ministry of Finance had stopped development funding for the last quarter of last fiscal year. What else proof one needs to see that the country was on the verge of economic collapse?” The demand of the coalition government about constitution of the full bench to hear the case of the Punjab chief minister election should be taken seriously as it’s important to avoid any dispute, said Iqbal. He said the coalition parties wanted to protect the sanctity of courts at any cost.

Meanwhile, Talal Chaudhry criticised Imran Khan for “uttering derogatory remarks against national institutions”. He told a press conference that across-the-board accountability should be ensured as nobody was above the law.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2022