PESHAWAR: Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Abdul Lateef Afridi on Wednesday expressed concern about uncertainty prevailing in the country since the dissolution of the National Assembly and demanded an immediate Supreme Court decision on the NA deputy speaker’s ruling on no-trust motion against the prime minister.

He also called for punishment of the violators of the Constitution.

Mr Afridi told reporters at the Peshawar Press Club that he had nothing to do with politicians from Shehbaz Sharif to Imran Khan to Asif Zardari to Maulana Fazlur Rehman and wanted to see the rule of law in the country.

Accompanied by a number of lawyers, the former SCBA chief said the National Assembly’s deputy speaker didn’t abide by the Constitution by rejecting the no-trust motion against the prime minister.

Former SCBA president says NA deputy speaker’s act seems to be pre-planned

He said after the no-confidence motion was tabled, the speaker couldn’t adjourn the assembly session without putting it to vote.

Mr Afridi said the deputy speaker’s act, which seemed to be pre-planned, ‘created a vacuum’ in the country.

He also criticised the role of the prime minister and the president on the matter and said Mr Imran Khan requested Dr Arif Alvi to dissolve the assembly soon after the rejection of the no-trust motion by the deputy speaker and the latter’s quick action on it showed they all acted in unison.

The former SCBA president said it was the responsibility of the prime minister to unveil the relevant documents to prove his claim about an international conspiracy against him.

“Mere allegations are not enough to call the opposition leaders traitors,” he said.

Mr Afridi said in the past, the Supreme Court didn’t play its due role in most of such cases and gave controversial verdicts.

He said the lawyers hoped that the current Supreme Court would decide the case fairly at the earliest to end the prevailing uncertainty in the country.

The former SCBA president said there was a clear contradiction in the words and acts of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who once thanked the opposition for presenting the no-confidence motion against him but later declared it traitor.

Senior lawyers representing different political parties and bodes were also present on the occasion. They included Jalaluddin, Fida Gul, Mohim Afridi, Farooq Shah, Rafiq Momand, Farman Ali, Razaullah Khan, Taimoor Ali Shah, Ubaidullah Anwar, Qamar Zaman, Akbar Yousuf Khalil and Abdul Fayaz.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2022