Pak SC asks parties to submit suggestions to resolve deadlock

Islamabad: Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday asked all parliamentary parties to submit their suggestions to resolve the ongoing political impasse between the government and protesters seeking Premier Nawaz Sharif's resignation. A five-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, asked for the suggestions by Thursday while hearing a set of petitions against sit-ins of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf (PTI) and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).

Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel for political parties, asked the court to issue eviction orders against the protesters, occupying open area in front of the Parliament building, but the bench refused saying that the National Assembly Speaker was authorised to give such an order.

Justice Nawar Zaheer Jamali asked Attorney General to submit the details of financial losses as well as losses to public property, people killed and expenditure on law and order due to the sit-ins. The bench also decided to fix the responsibility of the losses as a result of the protests here so that such an incident does not take place in future.

Raza Rabbani, another counsel for political parties, contended before the bench that federation is under threat due to the political crisis. He stated that protesters are demanding the dissolution of all provincial assemblies. Rabbani argued that there is no implicit charge of rigging in elections to provincial assemblies.

Justice Asif Khosa observed that the court should also find out the root cause of the protests. "Election rigging is a very serious allegation leveled by a political party, which got 7.6 million votes in last general elections," he said.

Rabbani suggested that the court may ask the Parliament for proper legislation for constituting a judicial body to probe the alleged rigging. The hearing of the case was adjourned until Friday. Khan wants the PML-N government's ouster over alleged rigging in last year's poll which his party lost, while Qadri wants to bring a revolution in the country. Both the leaders are agitating since August 14.