Giving its verdict, Pakistan’s apex court said the Prime Minister was bound by the Constitution and therefore, he could not advise the President to dissolve assemblies, Pakistan’s Geo News reported.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court reserved its order on Thursday after five days of hearings on the cancellation of no-confidence motion and dissolution of the Pakistan national Assembly. Quashing Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri’s April 3 ruling and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly, Pakistan’s Supreme Court Thursday ordered the revival of the no-confidence motion against embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan. He will now face the no-trust motion on Saturday (April 9).
Giving its verdict, Pakistan’s apex court said the Prime Minister was bound by the Constitution and therefore, he could not advise the President to dissolve assemblies, Pakistan’s Geo News reported.
During the hearing on the fourth day, Chief Justice Bandial noted National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s move to dismiss a no-confidence motion against embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan through a controversial ruling is, prima facie, a violation of Article 95 of the Constitution.
“The real question at hand is what happens next,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper “We have to look at national interest,” he said, adding that the court would issue a verdict today.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker Suri on Sunday ruled that the no-confidence motion was linked with the “foreign conspiracy” to topple the government and hence was not maintainable. Minutes later, President Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Khan.
The prevailing crisis began to unfold after the opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister on March 28. The voting was scheduled to be held on April 3, but the deputy speaker rejected the motion, citing “conspiracy”.
In a dramatic move, Pakistan’s Opposition approved a ‘no-confidence motion’ against Khan in its “own session” of Parliament the next day after it was dissolved by President Arif Alvi and declared that the no-trust motion was “successful” with 197 votes.
Khan has dismissed the motion saying that the move to remove him was an attempt at regime change backed by the United States.