On Friday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, rejected Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan's request for a full court to hear the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to delay elections to the Punjab Assembly until October 8. This decision followed the recusals of Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail from the original five-member bench. Justice Bandial urged the PTI and the government to negotiate and hold a dialogue, while Justice Akhtar cautioned that accusing the court of "favouritism" could have serious consequences. The AGP informed the court that Pakistan was running a deficit of Rs1,500 billion, and the court summoned the secretaries of finance and defence for the next hearing, which was adjourned until April 3.
During a hearing at the Supreme Court, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan stated that Justice Mandokhail had recused himself from the bench and that the two judges had distanced themselves from the bench during the suo motu proceedings on elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial clarified that the internal conversations of judges should not be made public and emphasized that the SC judges were being targeted based on hearsay. He added that the judiciary was being affected, and people in important positions were targeting it. He also stated that the SC had the best judges in the last 20 years and appreciated the judgments authored by Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Ayesha Malik. The CJP further clarified that if someone talked based on law, he would listen to it as a judge, but if someone attacked his judges, they would have to face him. The formation of benches should not affect day-to-day cases, and the court would soon resolve all these issues, the CJP concluded.
In a recent hearing, the Chief Justice of Pakistan highlighted the importance of providing security and funds for the upcoming elections. The Attorney General of Pakistan, Khalid Jawed Khan, presented arguments regarding the financial situation of the government, mentioning the deficit of Rs1,500bn and the increased interest rate. The CJP emphasized that the government must provide security and funds for the elections, and asked the AGP to brief the court about the finances. Justice Ahsan clarified that the AGP had to assist the court legally, while Justice Bandial said that the court would give a chance to all the respondents. The AGP stated that he would inform the court about financial matters after hearing from the political parties. The court summoned the secretaries of finance and defence to court and adjourned the hearing till Monday (April 3). Justice Akhtar also inquired about the control of federal consolidated funds, which are deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as per the Public Financial Management Act. The court highlighted that having money in funds and having it available for spending were two different things.
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