Chief Justice of Pakistan warns against not counting votes during no-trust proceeding

The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Thursday said that not counting votes that members will cast during no-trust proceedings against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan would be "contemptuous".

CJP Umar Ata Bandial made these remarks over the Presidential reference seeking the court's opinion on Article 63 (A) of the constitution, related to the defection of the Parliament members.

The reference was drafted on Monday by the Attorney General of Pakistan, Khalid Jawed Khan for eradicating the practice of defection, floor crossing and vote-buying. He also talked about the evidence of audio and video recordings showing horse trading.

The Article 63-A of the Constitution stated that a parliamentarian can be disqualified on grounds of defection if he votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, in relation to the election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or a money bill or a Constitution (amendment) bill, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn.

A five bench of the apex court headed by justice Bandial comprises of Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail heard the petition. "It is not the court's job to fill in the blanks. Such matters should be resolved in parliament rather than through a reference," Bandial was quoted as saying by Dawn.

While, another member of the bench, Akhtar, said, "the party's collective opinion is above an individual opinion. The collective opinion is important for the stability of democracy."

Meanwhile, Justice Alam said nobody could be forced to cast their vote.

Earlier, over a no-confidence motion, CJP said the Supreme Court won't be interfering in the proceedings of the National Assembly while hearing a petition moved by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) seeking the court's intervention to prevent "anarchy" in the country.

A no-trust motion is being moved in the assembly and the ruling party and the Opposition have announced rallies in Islamabad.

( With inputs from ANI )

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