 "Pakistan")
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing by a day but promised to give a “reasonable order” in the high-profile case about the rejection of a no-confidence motion by the deputy speaker of the National Assembly and the subsequent dissolution of Parliament.
A larger bench of the apex court – comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail – took up the matter after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected the move to dislodge the prime minister by declaring the no-trust motion unmaintainable due to its link with a so-called foreign conspiracy.
Minutes later, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on advice of Prime Minister Khan.
President Alvi, the Supreme Court Bar Association and all political parties have been made respondents in the case.
Lawyers from the government and opposition presented their argument regarding the ruling by the deputy speaker.
During the arguments, the Chief Justice Bandial said that even if the speaker of the National Assembly cites Article 5 of the Constitution, the no-confidence motion cannot be rejected, Geo News reported.
If Khan gets a favourable ruling, elections will take place within 90 days. If the court rules against the deputy speaker, the parliament will reconvene and hold the no-confidence vote against Khan, experts said.
Chief Justice Bandial had earlier in the day said the court would issue a “reasonable order” on the issue.
Imran Khan will continue to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan until the appointment of a caretaker premier, according to a notification issued by President Arif Alvi on Monday.
The incumbent Prime Minister shall continue to hold office till appointment of the caretaker premier, the notification said.
President Alvi has also written a letter to Prime Minister Khan and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, asking them to propose names of suitable persons for appointment as the caretaker premier, the Dawn reported.
The letter said that the National Assembly (NA) and the federal Cabinet had been dissolved on Sunday as per the Constitution.
KSE-100 index plunges over 1,200 points
Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index shed 1,250.07 points on Monday.
The Pakistani rupee also lost value against the US dollar following President Arif Alvi's decision to dissolve the lower house of Parliament on the recommendation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was expected to lose a no-confidence vote.
The market fell over 700 points immediately after the opening bell, sliding further to close 1,250 points or 2.77 per cent, in the red at 43,902. In the 5 sessions, the rupee lost nearly 1.3 per cent to end at 184.09. PTI
