ALLIES UNANIMOUSLY CALL FOR HOLDING COUNTRYWIDE POLLS ON SAME DAY: Partners in ‘Mission’

A meeting of the top leadership of coalition parties in the government on Wednesday unanimously decided holding of simultaneous elections on the same day throughout the country after the completion of the constitutional term of the incumbent government. The leaders of the allied political parties decided that holding of elections on the same day after the completion of the present government’s tenure, was the main point which would serve as base for any formulated strategy in that regard. The participants expressed their complete confidence in the prime minister and resolved their full support to him, besides giving him the authority to take decisions. The allied parties expressed that they would fully back all the decisions taken by the prime minister. The important consultative meeting of the leaders of coalition parties was held at the PM House with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release issued in Urdu language. The high-level meeting was attended by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, former president Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other leaders. During the meeting, the overall situation in the country was reviewed, particularly the matters which emerged after the decisions taken by ‘a one-sided and controversial Supreme Court bench’. The meeting also mulled over taking forward of earlier initiated consultative process to holding of elections in the country on simultaneous day after the constitutional term of the incumbent government’s tenure. They also deliberated upon the future strategy in the backdrop of current political contacts and consultations by a committee formed in this regard. They expressed the views that the ruling coalition partners had already started political consultation over holding of fair, free and transparent polls in the country on the same day and asserted that the “Punchayat” role of the Supreme Court over a purely political issue was unsuitable. The holding of negotiations and developing of consensus process was completely related to the realm of political parties and they had been carrying out this process with efficiency and success for the years. They decided to keep the issues within the political domain. Deliberating upon the April 19 decision of the Supreme Court, the meeting expressed its dismay that it had again issued a directive while neglecting the constitutional process regarding issuance of funds by the Federal Government required for holding of elections without approval by the National Assembly and viewed that it was in contrast to the scheme of the Constitution. The meeting also regretted the apex court’s observation in its order that the prime minister had lost confidence of the majority of the House. The leadership of the parties termed the observation amounting to contempt of the Parliament and the office of the prime minister and called it ‘condemnable. They urged the Supreme Court to respect the Parliament and its opinion. The entire Parliament stood with the prime minister and showed complete confidence in him. The meeting also considered the audio leaks involving former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, Khawaja Tariq Rahim, a lawyer and his wife and condemned the points of their discussion in the strong words. The discussion had exposed the conspiracy and the audios had further vindicated that the decisions were not made in accordance with the Constitution, rather on the basis of personal grudges, liking and disliking. The meeting also strongly condemned the undemocratic thinking regarding imposition of martial law in the country which was propagated through videos on social media. Removal of an elected prime minister through “sham, unconstitutional and illegal contempt of court proceedings” was a serious and unpardonable crime, they added. The meeting declared that after surfacing of the videos, the “hidden purpose behind the controversial decisions of the three-member and eight-member benches” had been further exposed. In this regard, the resolutions of the Parliament should be implemented, it was asserted.