Chief Justice Says Not Counting Vote During No-Confidence Motion Tantamount To Contempt

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has remarked that it would be 'contemptuous' to not count a vote cast during the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, adding that for how long a defecting lawmaker could be disqualified was the most important question.

The chief justice observed that Article 63-A of the Constitution provides the process governing the disqualification of a dissenting lawmaker. Justice Bandial issued these remarks while hearing the presidential reference seeking the apex court's opinion on Article 63-A. The SC bench hearing the case is headed by CJ Bandial and includes Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) counsel Ali Zafar and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) lawyer Farooq H Naek, PML-N's lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F)'s lawyer Kamran Murtaza were issued notices for the hearing. Notices were also issued to the Sindh advocate general, Islamabad inspector general of police, interior secretary and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), among others.

Earlier, the chief justice said that the spirit of Article 63-A should not be ignored, but added that it was not up to the court to find answers. "Such issues are better discussed in the parliament instead of being resolved through a reference," he remarked.