Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Umar Ata Bandial, lifelong disqualification is a very harsh punishment.
On Wednesday, the CJP made these remarks during a hearing of a presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A.
The case was heard by a five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court, led by CJP Bandial and comprised of Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Bandial stated that the country required a strong and stable government and that the ongoing game of musical chairs to gain power should be ended. He also noticed a lot of fluctuation, tension, and instability in the country’s political system.
“If a dissident is disqualified for life, it is a very harsh punishment,” the CJP said, adding that the court would not allow anyone to take advantage of the situation.
Azhar Siddique, a PML-Q lawyer, began his arguments at the start of the hearing. He stated that constitutional amendments were made in order to reduce defections. He claimed that on April 16, PTI members violated party discipline by voting for Hamza Shehbaz. He stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan was hearing a case against PTI dissidents.
While addressing the PML-Q lawyer, Justice Mandokhel stated that the PML-Q was in disarray, with half of the Q-League siding with one political party and the other with the other.
Justice Ahsan pointed out that there was no mention of the duration of the disqualification period in Article 63-A. He claimed that de-seating was sufficient punishment for a dissident.
