Islamabad (Web Desk): The Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday started hearing on petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) seeking the top court's order against the public gatherings in the federal capital ahead of the vote of no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Munib Akhtar heard the petition filed by SCBA President Ahsan Bhoon.
In its petition, the SCBA said that all the parties must be restrained from acting against the Constitution of the country.
"Both sides had expressed their intentions to gather, and protest at a mass scale in Islamabad in the wake of the vote of no-confidence against the premier and feared that the gatherings may turn violent," the SCBA petition said.
During the hearing, CJP Umar Ata Bandial remarked that though the petition has a political context, however, the apex court has to look at it from the perspective of the Constitution.
Justice Bandial said the SCBA had approached the court and wanted enforcement of the law.
The CJP asked Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan if he also wanted to approach the court, to which the AGP said a decision was made to file a presidential reference on Article 63(A) by Monday.
He requested the court to hear the presidential reference apart from the case as it is not related to the SCBA case.
“We respect the Parliament and the parliamentarians,” the CJP said, adding that no party will be allowed to use the court’s platform to worsen the ongoing political situation in the country.
“The court will answer legal questions according to the Constitution,” he added.
Referring to the attack on the Sindh House, the CJP observed that the property of the federal unit was damaged.
At this, SCBA President Ahsan Bhoon said, “The attack on the Sindh House is an attack on the federal unit.”
During the proceedings, Justice Munib Akhtar stated that the court’s intervention will not be meant for paralyzing the political process, adding that they will implement the Constitution for discipline.
As per Article 95 of the Constitution, the speaker will have to conduct a debate on the no-trust motion in the National Assembly ahead of voting on it, stated the judge.
Later, the top court issued notices to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Opposition parties including Pakistan Mulim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in this regard and adjourned the hearing till Monday 1pm.
Earlier, the SC had fixed March 21st as the date to hear the petition but the case was fixed for today after an attack on the Sindh House by the PTI a day earlier.
On Friday, The enraged workers of PTI forcibly entered the Sindh House in Islamabad after protesting outside the building against the disgruntled Members of National Assembly (MNAs) belonging to the ruling party who are staying there.
The agitated workers of the PTI, including MNAs Faheem Khan and Ataullah participated in the demonstration.
The protesters chanted slogans against the disgruntled PTI MNAs and in PM Khan’s support.
Following the incident, two PTI MNAs, Attaullah Niazi and Faheem Khan, and 12 PTI members had been arrested by the Islamabad Police for partaking in the protest. But later, the detained lawmakers and the activists had been released on a personal guarantee.