Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to dissolve parliament was illegal and ordered the house restored. The decision was made on Thursday after four days of hearings by the Supreme Court. Kahn will now face a vote of censure from lawmakers he has sought to bypass. The assembly will probably convene to vote on Saturday. A major political crisis erupted when Khan and his allies prevented the movement of opposition lawmakers who seemed certain to overthrow him. The move “is declared contrary to the constitution and has no legal force and is annulled,” the court ruled. Hahn dissolved parliament on Sunday, paving the way for early elections after accusing the opposition of being part of a “foreign conspiracy” to oust him. His opponents had gathered the 172 votes needed to oust him from the 342-seat parliament after several members of his party and a key coalition ally surrendered. But the vice-president of parliament, a member of Hahn’s party, rejected the motion of censure. The opposition claimed that Khan had violated the constitution and appealed to the country’s highest court.
“Victory for the nation”
Supreme Court Justice Umar Ata Bandial read out the ruling and said the steps taken to form an interim government before the election were also unconstitutional. “It is stated that all actions taken… with a view to holding general elections for the election of a new assembly – including, for example, the appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister and a Cabinet – have no legal force and are annulled,” the court ruled. Opposition leaders walked out of the courtroom showing signs of victory as supporters shouted loudly. “I congratulate the whole nation,” said Maulana Fazalur Rehman, leader of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). “This is the victory of the constitution and of the whole nation.” The President of the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz (PML-N) Sehbaz Sharif told reporters that it was a landmark day for the country. “The Supreme Court has issued a verdict that not only secured the constitution but also Pakistan,” Sharif said.
“We are very confident”
Opposition lawyer Haider Zaman Qureshi predicted a change of government would come soon. “When the [no-confidence] “The movement continues; we are very confident that we have the numbers and we will succeed,” Qureshi told Al Jazeera. “We will have a coalition government of opposition forces and we will build bridges and get Pakistan out of this economic collapse brought to us by this outgoing government.” Earlier on Thursday, the fourth day of the hearing, Kahn’s lawyers defended the controversial move, saying the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to intervene in parliamentary affairs. Kahn said the opposition had gone too far in negotiating a “regime change” with the United States. He said Washington wanted to leave because of what he described as an independent foreign policy that often favors China and Russia. The US State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistan’s domestic policy. The controversy plunged the country of 220 million people into a full-blown constitutional crisis and pushed its currency to historic lows against the dollar on Thursday. “As [the] “The dollar continues to rise, a huge economic collapse is looking the country in the eye,” Sharif, who is among the favorites to replace Khan as prime minister, tweeted. The Supreme Court of Pakistan or its powerful army intervenes consistently whenever unrest overwhelms a democratically elected government in the nation of South Asia. The military has seized power and ruled for more than half of Pakistan’s 75-year history. Q Zaman contributed to this report from Islamabad
