The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has hailed the Supreme Court for striking down Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari’s controversial ruling and appointing Parvez Elahi as the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Earlier, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar announced the verdict after completion of the arguments on the Punjab CM election case.
Read more: Nationwide protests erupt after Dost Mazari’s ruling
The SC also nullified all appointments made by ‘trustee CM’ Hamza Shahbaz and also directed the Punjab chief secretary to issue Pervaiz Elahi’s CM notification. The verdict was hailed across Pakistan.
In a press release issued earlier today, the SCBA said “such bold and legally correct decisions enhance the nation’s pride, trust, and confidence in the higher judiciary.”
“The Supreme Court verdict…shows that our courts are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, which they have applied impartially and without fear, favors, or prejudice,” the SCBA press release added.
ڈپٹی سپیکر پنجاب اسمبلی کی رولنگ کیخلاف عدالت عظمیٰ کے 3 رکنی بنچ کا تاریخی فیصلہ- سپریم کورٹ بار ایسوسی ایشن کا سپریم کورٹ کے فیصلے پر تائیدی بیان جاری- #عوام_کی_جیت pic.twitter.com/fIZwWPlL2L
— PTI (@PTIofficial) July 27, 2022
PML-N censures SC verdict
While PTI and civil society celebrate the SC verdict, the coalition government has expressed its disappointment.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed there would be no compromise on the supremacy of the Constitution and parliament, regretting the Supreme Court’s decision, nullifying his son, Hamza Shehbaz’s re-election as Punjab chief minister, dealt a blow to the expectation of the masses.
Read more: CM Punjab will meet Imran Khan to discuss way forward
PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz termed the ruling a “judicial coup”, saying the PML-N won’t accept the “murder of justice” in the case. Maryam’s father, the three times former premier Nawaz Sharif, also decried the apex court’s decision, saying the top court’s ruling had turned Pakistan into a spectacle.
PML-N leader Atta Tarar in a joint presser has said that the Supreme Court’s verdict on the ruling of deputy speaker Punjab Assembly regarding the election of chief minister Punjab would “go down in the history as darkest chapter,”