Islamabad: Pakistan remained on tenterhooks as the Supreme Court debated on Monday the legality of the no-trust motion against PM Imran Khan being rejected by the National Assembly’s deputy speaker before the five-member bench decided to adjourn the hearing to allow more submissions.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who filed a suo motu case and ordered status quo soon after the president dissolved the National Assembly on Imran’s recommendation on Sunday, had raised expectations about a “reasonable order” being passed on Monday by the bench. The opposition’s counsel, Farooq H Naek, started the day’s proceedings by requesting the court to set up a full bench, a plea that CJ Bandial rejected by citing the possibility of other cases being delayed.
The five-member bench noted during the debate that there were “violations” in the proceedings of the no-trust resolution in the lower house of parliament. The chief justice, who heads the bench, observed that the customary debate before voting on the no-trust motion was dispensed with as deputy speaker Qasim Suri handed the floor to information minister Fawad Chaudhry and almost immediately accepted his contention that the move to dismiss the government had been engineered by a “foreign power”.
House dissolution recommended
Earlier, President Dr Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the recommendation of Imran, who swiftly settled for the option of general elections within 90 days after the opposition’s no-trust motion against him was no-balled as unconstitutional by the deputy speaker of parliament’s lower House. CJ Bandial took suo motu cognisance of the National Assembly’s dissolution even as the opposition moved court, putting on hold all actions and orders issued by the PM and the President till a three-member bench hears all sides. The bench issued notices to all respondents before adjourning for the day. Bandial warned against unconstitutional steps by any institution, saying no one should try to take advantage of the situation.
Caretaker PM
Meanwhile, Imran proposed the name of former chief justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed for the office of the caretaker prime minister. His name was nominated at a core committee meeting of PTI chaired by Imran. Gulzar’s nomination followed a letter of Pakistan president Arif Alvi to Imran and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, seeking suggestions for the appointment of a caretaker prime minister. In another development, a handout issued by the president’s office read that Imran will continue as the prime minister, despite being de-notified as the chief executive, till the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.
Pakistan PMs who could not complete 5 years
Sr. No. | Name | Period | Years Completed |
1 | Liaquat Ali Khan | 14 August 1947 to 16 October 1951 | 4 years, 63 days |
2 | Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin | 17 October 1951 to 17 April 1953 | 1 year, 182 days |
3 | Mohammad Ali Bogra | 17 April 1953 to 12 August 1955 | 2 years, 117 days |
4 | Chaudhry Mohammad Ali | 12 August 1955 to 12 September 1956 | 1 year, 31 days |
5 | Huseyn Shaheed Suhra Wardy | 12 September 1956 to 17 October 1957 | 1 year, 35 days |
6 | Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar | 17 October 1957 to 16 December 1957 | 60 days |
7 | Sir Feroze Khan Noon | 16 December 1957 to 7 October 1958 | 295 days |
8 | Nurul Amin | 7 December 1971 to 20 December 1971 | 13 days |
9 | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto | 14 August 1973 to 5 July 1977 | 3 years, 325 days |
10 | Muhammad Khan Junejo | 24 March 1985 to 29 May 1988 | 3 years, 66 days |
11 | Benazir Bhutto | 2 December 1988 to 6 August 1990 | 1 year, 247 days |
12 | Nawaz Sharif | 6 November 1990 to 18 July 1993 | 2 years, 254 days |
13 | Benazir Bhutto | 19 October 1993 to 5 November 1996 | 3 years, 17 days |
14 | Nawaz Sharif | 17 February 1997 to 12 October 1999 | 2 years, 237 days |
15 | Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali | 23 November 2002 to 26 June 2004 | 1 year, 216 days |
16 | Chaudhry Shiyaat Hussain | 30 June 2004 to 26 August 2004 | 57 days |
17 | Shaukat Aziz | 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007 | 3 years, 79 days |
18 | Yousaf Raza Gillani | 25 March 2008 to 19 June 2012 | 4 years, 86 days |
19 | Raja Pervaiz Ashraf | 22 June 2012 to 24 March 2013 | 275 days |
20 | Nawaz Sharif | 5 June 2013 to 28 July 2017 | 4 years, 53 days |
21 | Shahid Khaqan Abbasi | 1 August 2017 to 31 May 2018 | 303 days |
22 | Imran Khan | 18 August 2018 incumbent | 3 years, 229 days |
