ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday proposed a cut in the salaries of judges so that election could be held in a country which is facing economic crisis.
He expressed these views while hearing a PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone the Punjab polls until October 8 due to financial and security concerns.
CJP Umar Ata Bandial is heading the five-member larger bench that is taking up the petition. The other members of the bench include Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
During a hearing, CJP Umar Ata Bandial welcomed newly appointed Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and acknowledged the importance of senior lawyer Farooq H Naek’s assistance in the matter.
The CJP emphasized that the court did not want to prolong the case and would examine the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as per the previous day’s order.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial stressed the importance of mutual tolerance, patience, and the rule of law in democracy. However, Naek argued that they were also stakeholders in the case. The CJP assured him of his importance but emphasized the need to avoid legal controversy.
The top court judge said the parties had to decide the direction of the circumstances, while the court had to consider the facts. He said that the law empowered the president to give an election date and urged clarification on the March 1 decision through a separate petition.
The CJP considered the central question to be whether the ECP had the power to change the election date. The attorney general argued that if the court decision was 4-3, then there was no order, and the president could not give an election date without a court order. The AGP emphasized that the March 1 decision should be decided first.
