Asserting that any debate would be fruitless if it were conducted “with a gun to your head,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Thursday that his party was attempting to develop agreement among the nation’s political elite on conducting elections.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, asked political leaders to hold talks earlier in the day after the Supreme Court resumed hearing a petition asking for general elections to be held for all national and provincial assemblies at once when the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman made his remarks.
According to The Express Tribune newspaper, Justice Bandial said that there could be no obstinacy in negotiations and that agreement could be formed via bilateral discussions.
Instead of after Eid, he suggested that the political leaders meet and discuss on Thursday. He suggested that the elections may take place in July after Eid during the session.
Justice Bandial requested a conversation between the fiercely opposed political groups, but none took place.
The Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan and PPP lawyer Farooq H Naek later met with Justice Bandial in his chambers and requested more time to hold talks with the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which is led by ousted prime minister Imran Khan, to develop consensus on the matter, according to the report. The hearing was then postponed until April 27, it was said.
“We have tried in the past and are willing to try again to bring the political leadership together [on elections], but dialogue cannot take place with a gun to your head as no one will agree,” Bilawal, 34, added.
He said that the PPP is in favor of conducting elections on the same day and is willing to speak with anybody to make this happen.
The issue with the government is that its main ally, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, is unwilling to engage negotiations with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), which is headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
When Bilawal visited Rehman this week, he said that his group was attempting to convince the JUI-F leader to take part in the discussions.
He said, “Our actions are intended to save democracy, which is presently under threat.
At a news conference, Rehman, using the term “hammer” to allude to the judge’s gavel, said that his party would not engage in negotiations with anybody.
There was a period when it was advised to avoid speaking in front of a gun. We are being forced to bargain in front of the hammer right now.We would accept justice but not your hammer, he said.
He also criticized the court for rejecting Parliament’s authority when it halted a measure intended to limit the chief justice’s authority before it could become law.
Additionally, he charged Khan with receiving mercy from the Supreme Court.
He said, “If the Supreme Court can be flexible with Imran Khan, why can’t they be flexible with us?”
Bilawal said that he believes the CJP would reach agreement within his organization before resigning from office.
“Such judicial dispersion has never been seen in our history. Currently, the Supreme Court is being tried in front of the people,” he remarked.
The political and economic unrest in Pakistan is now being exacerbated by the acrimonious conflict between the judiciary and government over the timing of the elections in the Punjab province.
As the former has refused to allow the cash to cover the costs, there is disagreement between the courts and parliament about the staging of elections in the two provinces.
Political instability has escalated due to the impasse, and the prospect of a national default has grown as a result of the already deteriorating economy.
The federal administration headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claims the right to postpone the elections and conduct them beyond August.
However, Khan’s PTI party pushed for early voting and demanded that general elections be held across Pakistan in lieu of postponing the Punjab elections and dissolving the National Assembly.
