Pakistan’s top court resumes hearing on dismissal of vote against Khan

Pakistan's apex court on Tuesday resumed its deliberations on the legality of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to block the no-trust vote against him and dissolve the parliament.

The court, which was adjourned on Monday, resumed hearing arguments on whether the embattled premier and his allies had the constitutional right to dissolve parliament and call for early elections.

In a high-drama event on Sunday, the deputy parliament speaker, Qasim Suri, rejected a no-confidence vote tabled by the united opposition that Khan appeared certain to lose.

He claimed a foreign plot against the government and said no foreign power will be allowed to "topple an elected government through a conspiracy," calling the vote against the sitting premier "unconstitutional" under Article 5 of the country's constitution.

Later, in his televised address on the state-run television, Khan reiterated that the move to overthrow him was a "foreign conspiracy”, asking President Arif Alvi to dissolve the parliament under Article 58(1) of the constitution and call for a fresh election.

The opposition challenged Khan’s decision, which prompted a five-member Supreme Court bench to hear arguments in the case on Monday.

“The ruling was unlawful – why?” Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked opposition lawyers.

Farooq Naek, a lawyer representing petitioners, told the court it was not in the “power and ambit” of the deputy speaker to reject the no-confidence motion. “It was a constitutional irregularity coupled with 'mala fide',” he said, a legal term meaning ‘bad faith.’

The court failed to come to a verdict during the three-hour hearing and decided to return on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Khan named the senior US government official who was behind the controversial letter that threatened to overthrow Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) government.

Addressing a meeting of party leaders in Islamabad, Khan said that during the national security committee's (NSC) meeting, foreign interference was noted in the internal politics of the country through a no-confidence motion.

Pakistan's top court could call for the reinstatement of parliament, a new election, or prevent Khan from standing again if he is found to have acted unconstitutionally.

SS