Chief justice suggests pay cut to allocate funds for elections in Punjab and KP
ISLAMABAD: The chief justice of Pakistan floated the idea of reducing pay of judges and others to generate funds to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The CJP gave this idea on Tuesday before adjourning the hearing of the case for Wednesday. The CJP also said that the ECP wrote the decision to delay polls in a haste.
During the hearing, chief justice Bandial said that democracy cannot function without the rule of law.
Earlier, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said that the court wants to know whether or not the ECP holds legal authority to delay elections.
If the ECP holds authority to delay polls, the court will dismiss the case, said the CJP while hearing the petition of PTI on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the chief justice said that the apex court wants ECP to justify delay in general elections to be held in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Moreover, the mainstream political parties in the coalition government _ PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F have decided to be part of the hearing of the apex court to submit their viewpoint. The CJP, however, did not accept their request and kept it pending.
Earlier, on Monday, two senior judges of the Supreme Court have raised questions over the unbridled powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail said the apex court “cannot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man, the chief justice of Pakistan.”
Also, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said that the opinion of two judges had no link with the ongoing case. The CJP remarked this on Tuesday while resuming the hearing on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petition that challenged the ECP’s decision on delay in elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On Monday, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail stated that the powers of the CJP should be reviewed. They said that the apex court could not rely on “one-man show/chief justice”).
Meanwhile, in Tuesday’s hearing, the attorney general requested the court to form a full bench to hear this important case.
CJP Bandial is the head of the five-member larger bench hearing the plea. Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail are members of the bench.
Moreover, the attorney general contended that if the court decision was 4-3 then there is no order. He added that if it was not a court order then the president cannot give the election date.
“The March 1 decision should be decided first,” said the AGP.
Thus, the AGP once again demanded the formation of a full court on the matter.
However, Justice Mandokhail stated that the judges who favored the March 1 ruling were an internal matter of the apex court. The apex court will take up for hearing this case on Wednesday (today/March 29).
