Pakistan: Imran Khan govt files review petition against Supreme Court ruling on no-trust motion

The petition, filed by the Imran Khan government against the April 7, 2022 verdict by the Supreme Court seeks a review of the ruling setting aside the National Assembly Deputy Speaker`s rejection of the no-trust motion.

File Photo (Reuters)

Islamabad: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday filed a review petition against the Supreme Court`s verdict setting aside the National Assembly Deputy Speaker`s rejection of the no-trust motion against Imran Khan, reported local media.

The petition, filed against the April 7, 2022 verdict by the apex court, seeks a review of the ruling given by the five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, ARY News reported. According to the sources, the development came after Imran Khan finalized his consultations with legal experts over the matter. The government will plead for suspension of the verdict and for the National Assembly to be allowed to function according to the rules, reported the media outlet citing the sources.

Notably, in the wake of the apex court`s decision, Imran Khan chaired a meeting of senior party leaders and legal experts ahead of a National Assembly session for the vote on the no-confidence motion. He also had a telephonic conversation with National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to discuss the strategy for the voting on the no-trust motion. Meanwhile, the National Assembly secretariat has made it clear to the speaker that violating the apex court`s decision to hold voting on the no-trust move will lead to contempt of court proceedings.

The secretariat officials have conveyed that implementation of the Supreme Court`s decision is unavoidable, reported the media outlet citing the sources."We have conveyed to the speaker that there is no way except voting on the no-trust move today. If there will be no voting then it will be tantamount to contempt of court," the media outlet quoted the officials as saying.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday ordered the incumbent government to face the no-confidence motion on Saturday. The court had turned down the ruling of the Deputy Speaker to reject the no-confidence motion.

The top court`s directives came after Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial took suo motu cognisance of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri`s ruling and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly, declaring all the decisions unconstitutional. The court also fixed the Saturday session with the conditions that the session cannot be prorogued unless the motion is voted upon, and in case Imran Khan loses the no-trust vote, the next PM has to be elected in the same session.