SHCBA, SBC condemn nomination of ex-CJ Gulzar as caretaker PM

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) Tuesday condemned the dissolution of the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan and rejection of no-confidence motion by the deputy speaker.

Adopting a resolution, the SHCBA also expressed concern over nomination of former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed as caretaker prime minster by PM Imran Khan after retiring only two months ago. The bar association said ill-considered nomination at this junction will only go to lend strength to the perception that Imran Khan’s government was on the same page with the top judiciary. The bar called upon the former CJ to decline such nomination proposed by the PTI leadership.

The SHCBA was of the view that the present constitutional crisis necessitates a full court hearing, so that Supreme Court can conclusively lay down the law and prevent future prime ministers from unconstitutional actions during vote of no-confidence motion. It pointed out that full court hearing was necessary as it is a politically-sensitive matter in order to protect the top court from any allegations from either side of selectivity and partisanship. It stated that dismissal of an elected parliament on a whimsical pretext of a foreign conspiracy by a speaker or deputy speaker was entirely without jurisdiction. The SHCBA said the speaker of the National Assembly has no discretionary power to suspend a vote of no-confidence motion let alone on the outlandish pretext of declaring and condemning some 200 elected parliamentarians from the four provinces as agents of an international conspiracy.

Meanwhile, the SBC termed the actions of president and prime minister with regard to dissolution of the National Assembly and deputy speaker’s act of rejecting the no confidence motion high treason.

Speaking at a press conference SBC Vice Chairman Zulfiqar Ali Khan Jalbani, SBC members Inayatullah Morio and others said unconstitutional action of the president, prime minister, deputy speaker and law minister were subversion of the Constitution and it will create unrest in the country.

They said such unlawful actions were constitutional disaster and a real danger to democracy in the country and the same were also against the basic structure of Constitution and rule of law. The bar leaders also expressed concern over nomination of former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed as caretaker prime minister by the PTI leadership and said such unfortunate nomination came at this point of time when the entire country was struggling against a political and constitutional turmoil. The bar unanimously resolved that the legal fraternity and the general public expected that the Supreme Court will defend and uphold the Constitution in letter and spirit.