SCBA says MNAs are independent in using their right to vote
\n ISLAMABAD
\nThe lawmakers are bound to follow the policy of the political party they are affiliated with, Justice Muneeb Akhtar of the Supreme Court said Thursday during the hearing of presidential reference seeking interpretation on Article 63(A).
\nA five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Aijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel is hearing the reference along with a plea filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) against public gatherings of the Opposition and the government in the federal capital \u2014 ahead of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
\nAll the ways leading to Red Zone, including D-Chowk, Serena Chowk, NADRA Chowk and Merit Chowk have been barricaded with heavy police deployment to completely seal the area for the hearing of the presidential reference in the apex court today.
\nMoreover, police personnel are also deputed in and outside the court with water cannons present nearby.
\nAs a result, the petitioners out to visit SC and Pakistan Secretariat faced extreme inconvenience as only Margala Road was open.
\n\u201cLawmakers have to vote in accordance with their party\u2019s mandate. They have to follow the party policy. Full stop, that\u2019s it,\u201d Justice Akhtar said.
\nHowever, he noted that no MNA can be tagged as \u201cgood boy or bad boy\u201d.
\nMeanwhile, Justice Mandokhel remarked that the Article 55 stipulates that all the parliamentary proceedings should be done through voting.
\nWhereas CJP Bandial stated that Article 63(A) is a \u201cdiscipline of the emerging political system.\u201d
\n\u201cThe article binds the lawmakers to stand by their party no matter even if they are unhappy with it.\u201d
\nAt this, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan said the country\u2019s political system is based on Article 63(A) or Article 95 \u2014 whose violation could collapse the entire system.
\nFollowing the attorney general\u2019s response, the bench members flooded the court with questions.
\nMoving on, the AGP said according to a judgment of the apex court on Article 17(2), the vote on an individual has no substance \u2014 it is considered collective and part of the party.<\/p>\n
At this, the chief justice said the court was still deliberating over the arguments being presented to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of these [arguments] are of extreme importance,\u201d remarked the top judge.
\nJustice Mandokhel, contrary to Justice Akhtar, said voting is an individual right and the parliamentarian is not bound by the party. Meanwhile, Justice Ahsan asked whether a lawmaker could vote outside party lines.
\nAt this, Justice Akhtar said political parties are an institution and violating their discipline could weaken or even destroy them.
\nJustice Mandokhel asked the AGP whether a party member could leave a party if it takes wrong decisions. AGP Khan said that if a member wants to part ways with the party then they should submit their written resignation.
\nAt this, CJP Bandial said: \u201cThis means that if a person defects from their party, they will have to face consequences.\u201d
\nWhile Justice Ahsan observed that if such a thing happens, then a new pandora\u2019s box will open for the government as it already has a thin majority in the National Assembly.
\nJustice Akhtar reiterated that if every member starts deciding their own policy, then the political party would turn from an institution to a mob.
\nCJP then asked the AGP whether floor-crossing was allowed in other democratic countries or not. Responding to the chief justice, AGP Khan said: \u201cIn other countries, prices go down before Christmas. In our country, prices double during Ramadan.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Justice Mandokhel asked the AGP whether he wanted the party leader to become the \u201cking\u201d?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe neither want them to be king nor do we want them to become turncoats,\u201d the AGP responded.<\/p>\n
The CJP then adjourned the proceedings till tomorrow and issued notices to the SCBA, PTI\u2019s allies, and all the political parties for assisting the apex court during the proceedings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SCBA says MNAs are independent in using their right to vote ISLAMABAD The lawmakers are bound to follow the policy of the political party they are affiliated with, Justice Muneeb Akhtar of the Supreme Court said Thursday during the hearing of presidential reference seeking interpretation on Article 63(A). A five-member larger bench of the apex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4863,5297,5296,292],"class_list":{"0":"post-251089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-lawmakers","9":"tag-party-policy","10":"tag-sc-judge","11":"tag-supreme-court"},"yoast_head":"\n