ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on Punjab chief minister’s election null and void and ruled that Pervaiz Elahi will be the new chief minister of the province, ARY News reported.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar announced the verdict after completion of the arguments on Punjab CM election case.
The apex court ordered the Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman to administer the oath to Elahi by 11:30pm. The SC also nullified all appointments made by ‘trustee CM’ Hamza Shahbaz.
In case the Punjab governor does not administer the oath to Elahi, President Dr Arif Alvi can do so instead, the court ruled.
The court also directed the Punjab chief secretary to issue Pervaiz Elahi’s CM notification today and ordered Hamza Shehbaz to vacate the Chief Minister’s Office immediately.
Pervaiz Elahi, who bagged 186 votes against Hamza’s 179 votes, had challenged the ruling in SC after deputy speaker Mazari rejected 10 PML-Q votes for going against party chief’s directive.
Former foreign minister and Shah Mehmood Qureshi has hailed the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict to instate PTI’s candidate Pervaiz Elahi as Punjab chief minister (CM), saying the people’s mandate has been respected.
Talking to journalists outside the Supreme Court, the former federal minister said that today, the Constitution’s rule has been accepted and the Pakistani people’s mandate has been respected.
“On July 17, the people of Pakistan accepted Imran Khan’s narrative wholeheartedly and rejected the imported government,” Shah Mehmood Qureshi added.
Talking about the CM Punjab election, Qureshi said that Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari trampled the Constitution of Pakistan and did not follow the principles.
It is pertinent to mention here that the hearing against ruling of Punjab Assembly deputy speaker in CM Election process continued for three days.
During today’s hearing, Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s lawyer Irfan Qadir and the PPP’s lawyer Farooq H.Naek appeared before the court. The PPP and Mazari’s lawyers apprised the court about the decision of boycott of their clients.
CJP Justice Bandial in his remarks said the demand of formation of full court is a delaying tactic and said the full court will only be available in the second week of September.
He asked the parties boycotting the court proceedings to show some grace.
The CJP said that “no legal” grounds were presented before the court; arguments were presented only regarding the party head’s directions; the court arrived at the conclusion that in the current case, there was no need for a full bench.
Meanwhile, the top court sought assistance on the matter relating to directions by the party head or a parliamentary party.
“Assist the court over the legal questions or we will set ourselves aside from the bench,” CJP Bandial told Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel of Elahi.
Giving his arguments in the case, Zafar said that the petitions against the 21st Amendment were dismissed by a ratio of 13:4 in a full court.