Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said on Thursday that discarding lawmakers’ vote during the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister would be “insulting” and a member of the National Assembly cannot be barred from voting, amid ongoing political turmoil in the country.
Pakistan has been on the edge since Opposition parties on March 8 submitted a no-confidence motion before the National Assembly secretariat, alleging that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan was responsible for the economic crisis and the spiralling inflation in the country.
Chief Justice Bandial heads a five-member larger bench of the apex court to hear a petition by the government seeking guidance from the Supreme Court whether to allow a dissident to vote against party policy and the length of disqualification for such an action while voting in parliament.
Bandial said there was no mention in the Constitution of not counting the vote of dissident lawmakers. “It will be insulting (to not count the vote),” he said.
However, the observation by the chief justice clashed with remarks by Justice Munib Akhtat, a member of the bench, who said the lawmakers were bound to follow the party line.
“The party’s collective opinion is above an individual’s opinion,” he said. “The collective opinion is important for the stability of democracy.”
Other judges also made different remarks regarding the vote of a lawmaker standing against the party policy and his disqualification under Article 63 (A) of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Attorney general Khalid Javed Khan vehemently argued in favour of discarding the vote of a dissident lawmaker and barring him for life from politics.
The legal battle is part of the political war going between Khan and Opposition parties which filed the motion against Khan on March 8.
Khan, 69, heads a coalition government and he can be removed if some of his partners decide to switch sides. He faces a rebellion by two dozen lawmakers and allied parties who are also reluctant to pledge support to him. No Pakistani Premier has ever completed a full five-year term.