Allies throw their weight behind PM

ISLAMABAD: The coalition partners of the incumbent government on Wednesday met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressed complete confidence in him and rejected the role of the Supreme Court which, they said, was trying to act as a Panchayat in the political process.

According to sources, MNAs addressing the NA proceedings Wednesday were increasingly upset with the three personalities for ‘continuously disrespecting parliament’. They proposed summoning them before the privilege committee of the House during the National Assembly session.

According to the sources, after the proposal from parliamentarians, the issue would be immediately referred to the privilege committee which in the next 24 hours would decide when the three personalities have to be summoned.

The coalition partners meeting unanimously observed that it was the jurisdiction and role of political parties to create consensus and harmony on political matters, the role which they have been playing successfully for years and the same could not be surrendered.

“The meeting was of the view that the ruling parties have already started political consultations on holding fair and free elections of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies on the same day and role of the Supreme Court as Panchayat is not proper,” a statement issued by the PM House after the meeting said.

Expressing complete confidence in the prime minister, the coalition partners’ meeting authorised him to take all the decisions in the prevailing circumstances. “Whatever decision is taken by the prime minister will be acceptable to all the ruling parties,” the statement said.

It also reviewed the April 19 decision of the Supreme Court and regretted that the apex court, while putting behind all the constitutional process, again issued orders barring the government from seeking approval from the National Assembly to release the budget for the conduct of elections.

“If the government releases a budget for elections, it will directly clash with the scheme of the Constitution,” the participants of the meeting observed.

The meeting also observed that the observations of the Supreme Court that the prime minister had lost confidence was also tantamount to a breach of privilege of parliament and that of prime minister himself. The meeting emphasised on the Supreme Court to respect the opinion of parliament and maintained that parliament stands by the prime minister and has complete confidence in him.

The coalition partners also discussed audios of ex-chief justice Saqib Nisar, lawyer Khawaja Tariq Rahim and his wife and strongly condemned their contents observing that audios also exposed conspiracies that decisions were being taken not as per Constitution and justice but on the basis of personal likes and dislikes. “They also condemned the undemocratic thought which was obvious from the ‘audio leaks’ regarding the imposition of martial law,” the statement said.

The coalition partners observed that in audio leaks, Saqib Nisar and Khawaja Tariq Rahim admitted and there was no doubt that the ex-chief justice committed a conspiracy against the constitutionally and democratically elected prime minister of the country. “Removal of a prime minister through unconstitutional, unlawful and fake proceedings is a crime which cannot be forgiven,” the participants of the meeting said.

The meeting called for the implementation of decisions and resolutions of parliament while observing that the audios also exposed conspiracies behind the formation of three-member and eight-member benches.

Addressing the participants, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the coalition parties were unanimous that the elections would be held in October or November after the incumbent government completed its term on August 13. He said parliament would take a decision regarding elections and provision of funds for the elections as the forum had already taken legal and constitutional steps to address the issue. He said in the recent past, the meetings were held to discuss the challenges and remedial measures, and a joint session also took legal and constitutional steps in this regard.

Shehbaz said that the apex court should not be given the right to arbitrate (act as Panchayat) as it should only give verdicts as per law and the Constitution. He said that despite the parliament’s decision not to accept the three-member bench, the Supreme Court wanted to move forward with the same bench. He said the coalition parties were unanimous that they would accept the 4-3 verdict of the SC bench. “This is the government’s political and moral obligation to accept the parliament’s decision,” the prime minister said.

Regarding the dialogue for evolving a consensus on a single election date, he said that there was an “overwhelming” opinion among the coalition parties that the doors to dialogue should remain open. “Doors to dialogue with opponents should remain open in the better national interests,” he said.

The prime minister said that there was also an opinion that a parliamentary committee might play a role in this regard as the government desired to evolve a consensus on the election date and did not want to impede the process just to satisfy its ego. He said that a smear campaign on social media was run to malign institutions and their leadership to promote an international agenda. “A culture to divide nation is also being promoted,” he said.

Unlike other coalition partners, JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was stuck with his stance that there should be no dialogue with Imran Khan. Later, he also called a meeting of his party’s central working committee to discuss the situation.

The federal cabinet, meanwhile, referred a summary of the finance minister to parliament for provision of Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.