The political pandemonium in Pakistan continues even as the country’s Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the national assembly deputy speaker’s decision to reject a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan. The vote will now take place on April 9. In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 on Friday, former Pakistan law minister Farooq Naek, who was the lead counsel for the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the SC, explained what happened in the apex court, the options before Imran Khan, and what the strategy of a government led by the now-opposition may be. Edited excerpts:
This is a big victory, for not only the PPP but for the whole opposition. How do you want to react to this?
I will say that this is a big victory for democracy, for constitution, and for law in the country. And the judgement which has come by the Supreme Court of Pakistan has laid down the foundation that nobody should interfere in the democratic process and the constitutional rule in the country.
How did this process start?
In view of what was happening in Pakistan, there was a lot of resentment against the government of Imran Khan: there was inflation, there was insecurity and institutions were not working properly. And as a consequence whereof the opposition parties, who were also allies in the present government, left the present government and joined hands with the opposition party and, as a consequence, a vote of ‘no confidence’ was moved under the constitution in the national assembly for the removal of Prime Minister Imran Khan. That vote of no confidence was delayed by the speaker of the national assembly under the instructions of Mr Imran Khan. But anyhow, we went to the court…and the court directed that the process of law in the constitution should be followed. When the vote was fixed…The day was fixed on the 3rd of April, for the purpose of casting the no-confidence vote by the members of the national assembly…The house was composed of 342 members, and the opposition would have more than 172 members, Mr Imran Khan would have been removed from the office of the Prime Minister. So instead, under the garb that there is a letter written by a foreign country which is an interference in the internal affairs of the country, and the opposition is in league and in conspiracy with those foreign forces, the deputy speaker who was presiding the session of the national assembly rejected this motion for the no-confidence resolution and prorogued the session indefinitely. Against that order, that very day petitions were filed. There was a big upheaval in the country. The Supreme Court also took notice of that and issued notices to all the political parties and then the hearing took place. And, ultimately, yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the rejection of the no-confidence motion was wrong, the prorogation of the national assembly was illegal and unlawful, and the dissolution of the assembly under the garb that a no-confidence motion is pending in the national assembly by the President of Pakistan on the advice of the Prime Minister is also illegal and unconstitutional.
You were there in the court and continuously attended all 3 to 4 hearings by the Supreme Court. At one stage it appeared that the court was tilted towards general elections. But somehow the EC was not convinced and wanted time till October. Do you think this order is a compulsion or just an argument the Supreme Court was trying to make?
I was the main lawyer who started the arguments on behalf of the Pakistan Peoples Party that I was representing, and on the 4th of April the whole day I argued the case, and I argued before the court that the rejection of the no-confidence motion is unlawful and unconstitutional. And if this rejection of the no-confidence motion is declared to be unconstitutional by the court, then the consequence is that the dissolution of the national assembly by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister has got to be declared unlawful. I think that the court was very clear that the rejection of the no-confidence motion (NCM), without putting it to the vote as required by the constitution, is unlawful. But they gave observations…But it was not a decision…When they reassembled after a short break, they announced a decision as per law and constitution. And it’s a great decision given by the Supreme Court, and I must salute the Supreme Court for that, and honourable judges who have pronounced the judgement.
Tomorrow is the day when the NCM will start again. Do you see any plan, anything by Imran Khan that he may do something which will again stall the process?
It would be difficult. Whatever Mr Imran Khan may do would be in bad taste and would be a negation of the democratic rule and constitutional rule in the country. I think he should accept defeat. He should accept the judgement of the honourable Supreme Court. He should go before the national assembly. And if he’s got the numbers, more than 172, he should bring them for the vote of confidence in his favour. And if he does not have that, he should honourably sit in the opposition and play the role of opposition rather than creating chaos and uncertainty, and instability in the country.
So will this government under Shehbaz Sharif be a caretaker-type short-term government that will present the budget and go or will it complete its tenure?
As far as the tenure is concerned, a year and a half is still left under the election laws and under the constitution for the government to complete its term. But I think it will be a coalition government composed of all the opposition political parties except the PTI, and it will be decided by them then whether they want to have a midterm election or if they want to complete the term as required by the constitution, which is finishing I think in mid-2023 or something like that.
And what will be the opposition’s strategy? There are many seats that are vacant. Will they go for bypolls or will they wait?
I think there are one or two seats that are vacant…And for that, it is the job of the Election Commission of Pakistan, which is an independent constitutional institution to hold elections in accordance with the Election Act 2017.
Read the Latest News and Breaking News here
Comments
0 comment