Parliament’s joint session approves resolution for elections in country at same time

Islamabad: The joint session of parliament on Monday passed a resolution reiterating the importance of holding general elections for both the national and provincial assemblies at the same time.

The goal of this move is to "strengthen the federation. Two identical resolutions were put forward by Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Senator Kamran Murtaza with the aim of promoting political stability and unity among the provinces.

The resolutions highlighted the need for simultaneous elections in all assemblies and emphasized the importance of appointing impartial and fair caretaker setups to oversee the electoral process. It is hoped that these measures will ensure the fairness and neutrality of the elections.

During the joint parliamentary session, it was argued that conducting elections separately in Punjab - which holds over 50% of the National Assembly seats - would significantly impact the results of the National Assembly elections in the province. The resolutions pointed out that this could potentially marginalize the smaller provinces and their role in the federation.

At the same time, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators staged a brief walkout from the session in protest. During the walkout, they chanted, "Hold elections and save the country."

The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, was passed by the joint session of parliament with the involvement of the federal government.

This came after President Arif Alvi returned the bill that aimed to limit the chief justice's suo motu powers last week.

The bill was presented by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar during the joint sitting of the house, which was presided over by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. The passage of this bill marks a significant development in the country's legal system.

Parliament in its Joint session passes 'The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023'.
The bill was presented by Minister for Law and Justice @AzamNazeerTarar. pic.twitter.com/LnUcO32zZR

— National Assembly of 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) April 10, 2023

The bill aimed at limiting the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, including the suo motu and bench formation, has been returned by the President to Parliament for reconsideration as per Article 75 of the Constitution. The President stated that the bill appears to go beyond the scope of the Parliament's authority and could be challenged as a colorable legislation.

During a joint session, the Law Minister mentioned that opposition to the suo motu powers of the Chief Justice was coming from within the Supreme Court.

The passed bill proposes that a committee of three senior judges, including the Chief Justice, be given the power to take suo motu notice. It also aims to establish transparent proceedings in the Supreme Court and allows for the right to appeal.

Regarding the formation of benches, the bill stipulates that a committee consisting of the Chief Justice and the two most senior judges will establish a bench to hear and dispose of all cases, matters, and appeals before the Supreme Court. It further specifies that the committee's decisions will be made by a majority.