ISLAMABAD
\nPTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday told political parties \u2014 in particular the PPP \u2014 to announce whether they were standing with the Constitution or abrogating it as the Supreme Court deliberates on the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s delay to polls in Punjab.
\nThe constitutional crisis in Pakistan deepened on Saturday as the ruling coalition in the Centre, led by PML-N, hinted that it would not accept the decision of the Supreme Court bench hearing the case regarding provincial polls, and also alluded to the possibility of moving a reference against Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and two other members of the bench.
\nThe PPP is a part of the coalition government in the centre.
\nSpeaking to the media in Karachi today, the former foreign minister urged the political parties that wanted to \u201cturn away\u201d from the Constitution to come out in the open, clarifying that \u201csilence is not an option\u201d.
\n\u201cThe silence that PPP has adopted is not enough,\u201d he said. \u201cEither the PPP stands with the Constitution or it should outright announce that it is abrogating it.\u201d
\nHe added that the PPP was proud of the 18th Amendment but \u201cBhutto\u2019s grandson decided to attack Bhutto\u2019s Constitution. Zardari has destroyed what Bhutto created\u201d.
\nQureshi spoke about how the PML-N had decided to \u201cattack\u201d the Constitution and party leaders had started to \u201cpressurise the Supreme Court\u201d.
\n\u201cLook at their social media posts in the last 48 hours. They are not agreeing with any Pakistani. Even Rana Sanaullah tried to attack the judges yesterday.\u201d
\nThe PTI leader said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier invited them for talks from the floor of the assembly to free the country of the mess it was in \u201cbut yesterday he said that Imran Khan and PTI will not be spoken to\u201d.
\n\u201cSometimes they ask us to come to the assembly and fulfil our responsibility but [at the same time] the National Assembly speaker [Raja Pervaiz Ashraf] is becoming a hurdle,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope the high court will give a message to the speaker so that PTI members can go to the assembly.\u201d
\nQureshi accused the government of wanting their own opposition leader in the National Assembly that tows the government\u2019s line.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a test for political parties. Tomorrow an important case will be heard. On Saturday the attorney general was called to the court but he couldn\u2019t give any solid answer.\u201d
\nThe PTI vice chairman went on to say that the Election Commission of Pakistan had also accepted the Supreme Court\u2019s decision by issuing the election schedule.
\n\u201cPML-N and PPP also took part in the nomination papers process,\u201d Qureshi said, adding that PM Shehbaz, Zardari, and Bilawal should have had the guts to not submit the election papers.
\nQureshi said the government was trying everything to delay the elections and for that, the new bill limiting the CJP\u2019s power was also passed in the assembly.
\n\u201cPresident Dr Arif Alvi has already begun consultations with lawyers,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Supreme Court\u2019s powers can only be [un]done through a constitutional amendment\u201d.
\nHe also urged the legal community \u201cto play a role in the country\u2019s history\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday told political parties \u2014 in particular the PPP \u2014 to announce whether they were standing with the Constitution or abrogating it as the Supreme Court deliberates on the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s delay to polls in Punjab. The constitutional crisis in Pakistan deepened on Saturday as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[89],"class_list":{"0":"post-323362","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-qureshi"},"yoast_head":"\n