ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Monday urged both the government and former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to resume election talks to end the political impasse, calling on all parties to play their part in maintaining peace and ending polarization in the country.
Tensions between the government and the judiciary began in April when the apex court ordered elections to be held in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province on May 14. The controversy was triggered when the PTI and its ally dissolved the provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in January to force the government to hold early elections.
Pakistan’s constitution mandates that elections must be held within 90 days of the date of dissolution of an assembly. However, the government rejected the court’s order and said polls would be held across the country on the same date. It refused to comply with the court’s orders to issue Rs21 billion in funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for elections in Punjab.
In earlier hearings of the case, the court had directed the government and the court to resolve the political impasse in the country via negotiations, following which both sides held talks. Negotiations broke down last week when Khan was arrested by the government, triggering nationwide protests that turned violent.
As the May 14 deadline to hold polls in Punjab passed on Monday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the chief justice resumed hearing the case on delay in elections in Pakistan’s most populous province.
“You should revisit the negotiation process,” Chief Justice Bandial told the attorney general and the PTI lawyer during the hearing. “We don’t know anything about politics neither do we want to know.”
On resuming election talks, the chief justice said “the ball is in the attorney general’s court,” adding that holding elections within 90 days is an important issue. He said the PTI lawyer can talk to his leadership if the government invites the opposition for talks.
Justice Bandial asked Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan to explain to the court why the government’s negotiations with the PTI did not succeed. In response, Awan told the bench that the government had tried its best to negotiate with the opposition, adding that the last round of talks was held on May 2.
“September was being discussed as the month for elections during talks,” Zafar interjected. “However, the situation worsened all of a sudden,” he added, referring to Khan’s arrest and the subsequent nationwide protests.
Zafar said it is everyone’s duty to ensure the implementation of Pakistan’s constitution.
“The manner in which political forces are operating is not right,” Justice Bandial noted. “People are losing their lives while institutions are under danger and being threatened.”
The chief justice referred to a protest by the ruling government alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which is currently underway outside the top court’s building. In a statement on Sunday, a PDM leader said the alliance had decided to protest against senior judges for granting “undue facilitation” to Khan.
“People were jumping over the walls [of the Supreme Court] today, it looked as if the government had failed,” the top judge observed. “We will observe what happens within the next three to four days. We will continue to do our duty.”
“Institutions must be respected,” Justice Bandial added.
The chief justice said he had seen footage of people getting shot in last week’s protests, expressing alarm at the level of polarization in the country. “The executive and the opposition should both maintain high standards of ethics,” he said. “It is mandatory to implement the constitution.”
Justice Bandial told Zafar to speak to the PTI leadership on how polls can be held in such a polarized atmosphere. “You will have to create a high moral ground,” he told Zafar.
Upon Awan’s request, the apex court adjourned the hearing till Tuesday, May 23, and issued notices to the attorney general and the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate generals.