Dissolution unconstitutional: Pakistan SC orders no-trust vote on April 9

Pakistan’s Supreme Court cancelled Prime Minister Imran Khan’s plan to hold an election, a move that could bring the Opposition to power within days. A panel of five judges on Thursday rejected a parliamentary ruling that called off a no-confidence debate on Sunday, which had allowed Khan to call for fresh elections. The opposition had declared the move illegal, as the constitution doesn’t allow the dissolution of parliament during a no-confidence debate.

 

The vote on the no-confidence motion will now be held on Saturday morning, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The cabinet and parliament were also restored.

 

Pakistan’s election commission said on Thursday that the earliest it could hold the ballot was October.

 

The parliament ruling is “declared contrary to the constitution and the law,” Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said of the unanimous verdict.

 

The order was handed down under heavy security cover — with riot police and paramilitary troops surrounding the court building amid concerns that government and opposition party supporters could clash.

 

“It’s a bold but much welcome move by the Supreme Court, especially for constitutional supremacy,” said Marva Khan, an assistant professor at the law school of the Lahore University of Management Sciences. “Having a unanimous judgment on the matter further strengthens the value of this precedent.”

 

The constitutional crisis has threatened economic and social stability in the nuclear-armed nation of 220 million people, with the rupee currency hitting all-time lows earlier on Thursday and foreign exchange reserves tumbling.

 

The extra yield investors demand to hold Pakistan’s sovereign debt, on average, over US Treasuries widened by 8 basis points on Thursday to 10.73 percentage points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. data, just above the 10-percentage point threshold for distressed debt.

 

Thursday’s ruling could spell the premature end of Khan’s tenure in a country where no elected leader has finished their full term in office.

 

The 69-year-old came to power in 2018 after rallying the country behind his vision of a corruption-free, prosperous nation respected on the world stage. If Khan were to lose the no-confidence vote, the Opposition could nominate its own prime minister and hold power until August 2023, by which date fresh elections have to be held.

 

The Opposition has said it wants early elections.