Chief Justice Latif Khosa per barham, "Ap taqreer na karen qanooni bat kare"

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Chief Justice Latif Khosa per barham, "Ap taqreer na karen qanooni bat kare"  #latifkhosa #qazifaezisa #levelplayingfield #supremecourt #arynews

Transcript

00:00 Sir, if you want, I can play a CD for you, in all of Pakistan.

00:04 Now, please don't give a speech.

00:06 You can talk legally. This is a constitutional court.

00:09 Everybody comes and makes a political statement here.

00:13 How is the BJ Election Commission doing it?

00:16 What did you file?

00:18 I filed my application concerning...

00:22 And here, look at the original petition, on page 20.

00:26 This is your application, what is your complaint?

00:30 This is the order of the Provincial Election Commission, Punjab.

00:34 Where did you have to present it?

00:36 Page 23, sir.

00:38 You had to present it in front of the Election Commission or in Punjab?

00:42 I presented it.

00:43 No, they dissipated it to the Election Commission.

00:48 Now, look at page 20, the original petition, the Constitution petition 47.

00:53 I went to the application and presented it there with the prayers.

00:56 Page 23 of Constitution petition 47.

01:03 Page 23.

01:06 Now, the things that were asked on page 23, all the petitions are long.

01:10 I am just showing you what I requested from them in prayer.

01:14 Page 23's prayer.

01:15 This is what I asked the Chief Election Commission.

01:18 In the light of foregoing, it is prayed that the ECP pass appropriate orders to ensure that candidates of the applicant PTI,

01:29 including those presently in detention or who may be detained in future,

01:36 or those who have been declared proclaimed offenders/absconders,

01:41 are allowed to file their nomination papers for the general elections.

01:47 And attend to the scrutiny process, including the appeals against their candidature.

01:54 Ghozar sir, I want to ask a question to you because this is a contempt proceeding.

02:00 This is nothing new petition.

02:01 The original petition was disposed of by this court on 22nd December, 2023.

02:08 And Para 4 contains the direction that you appeared before the Election Commission

02:12 and they will try to resolve your all commitments.

02:14 But in this contempt petition, if you will see the title of the petition,

02:18 you have made so many contemners in this, besides the Election Commission.

02:22 Chief Secretaries have been made many contemners, IG of Punjab has been made.

02:28 So, these contempt proceedings, which have been contempted by the Election Commission,

02:33 please tell us a little bit about their contempt against which you have come here.

02:36 Sir, they have enforced...

02:40 That is why I was asking to you whether they have passed any order or not

02:43 on after providing opportunity of hearing to you, whether any order was passed,

02:49 any directions was given to the Provincial Election Commission.

02:53 They have not given us anything.

02:54 Yes, they have not given us anything.

02:57 But this, which I was reading on page 12,

03:00 you will get to know from this,

03:02 that how the Provincial Election Commissioners are dealing with our complaints.

03:08 But in this, the Provincial Election Commission is the main party which you have in this contempt.

03:14 No, I have...

03:16 First, see, Aftab Akbar Durrani, Secretary, Ministry of Interior, contemner number one.

03:21 Omar Hamid Khan, Secretary, Election Commission, contemner number two.

03:25 Nadeem Ahmed Chaudhry, Chief Secretary, KPK, contemner number three.

03:28 Zahid Aftar Zaman, Chief Secretary, Punjab.

03:30 Yes, all four of them are IGs and all four are Chief Secretaries.

03:32 Mohammad Fakre Alam Irfan, Chief Secretary, Government of Karachi Sindh.

03:36 Shakeel Khadir, Chief Secretary, Balochistan.

03:38 Dr. Usman Anwar, IG, Punjab.

03:40 Dr. Khalid Shah, IG, Balochistan.

03:42 Dr. Hayat, IG, Police, KPK.

03:45 Rifat Mukhtar, IG, Police, Sindh.

03:48 Just my consumption, because the contempt proceeding is before us.

03:51 The contemner, the person who has violated the order of this court.

03:55 So we have to first see who has violated the order of this court.

04:00 Sir, you wrote to the Election Commission in paragraph three,

04:04 that you have constitutional obligations to ensure free and fair and transparent elections.

04:09 In paragraph three, you have seen that Article 218.

04:12 You have written that.

04:13 This is their responsibility to conduct a fair and transparent election.

04:18 And all the authorities...

04:19 The decisions are in paragraph four.

04:21 I don't understand your case.

04:23 What do you want from us?

04:24 Sir, if you want, I can play the CD for you.

04:27 In all of Pakistan...

04:28 Now, please don't talk.

04:30 You can talk legally.

04:31 This is a constitutional court.

04:34 May everybody comes and makes a political statement here.

04:38 Please tell us you moved a contempt application against the Election Commission of Pakistan.

04:44 The order had directed Election Commission of Pakistan to do something.

04:49 Yes.

04:49 Now you have moved a contempt application against IG and Chief Secretaries

04:55 who have got nothing to do with the Election Commission.

04:58 Election Commission is a separate constitutional body.

05:01 I hope I don't have to tell this to such senior counsel.

05:04 You've not read even the Election Commission of Pakistan as a respondent

05:08 or the individuals contempt is committed by individuals.

05:11 What has the IG police got to do with it?

05:13 What has got a chief secretary got to do with it?

05:15 The matter of election pertains to Election Commission of Pakistan.

05:19 Yes.

05:20 And Election Commission of Pakistan is in charge of fair and free elections.

05:27 What the Chief Election Commissioner has done or the Election Commission has done,

05:32 they passed on your Lordship's order to all concerned.

05:35 Now, when I have moved applications and complaints where my

05:40 proposers, seconders, candidates, their agents were obstructed,

05:45 and they were incarcerated, and they were not allowed to cast their

05:49 nomination papers before the returning officers,

05:54 and or on the scrutiny day, the way they were roughed up,

05:57 and they were not allowed, the way the applications have been rejected.

06:01 And where is the proof of any of this?

06:03 I have given all that.

06:04 These are just words that you are uttering from the rostrum.

06:08 Show us some proof.

06:10 Yes.

06:10 The CD is here.

06:11 And I have...

06:12 The CD is there.

06:12 Yes.

06:13 I have given the names of all the CMs who have moved applications.

06:17 And who have been rejected.

06:19 I don't know why we are doing this.

06:26 Yes, why we are doing this?

06:28 Can we just...

06:29 Can you please hear us and just hear the question and answer the question?

06:33 Sir.

06:34 You have invoked the jurisdiction of this court under Article 204 of the Constitution,

06:41 which is contempt of an order of this court.

06:45 Yes.

06:45 So, I don't want a yes from you.

06:48 Just hear us out.

06:48 My brother has said that what order has the Election Commission of Pakistan violated?

06:56 This court facilitated whatever you wanted,

07:01 that you will go at 3pm to the Election Commission and put all your grievances there.

07:06 Now you are saying that the IG police and chief secretary have violated the order.

07:11 They've got nothing to do with the election.

07:14 If the order has been violated, it would be by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

07:20 How does the IG police and chief secretary come into the picture?

07:25 Either you file a different petition.

07:28 This is a contempt matter.

07:30 You obtain an order against ECP.

07:33 You file a contempt application against somebody who has got nothing to do with the election.

07:37 If you issue them notice, they'll say we've got nothing to do with the election.

07:40 This is a matter of Election Commission of Pakistan.

07:42 Why are you sending us notice?

07:44 Can you please answer this legal question as opposed to referring to some CD or something like that?

07:50 Answer the question.

07:51 You want contempt action taken against individuals.

07:56 Why?

07:56 How may I answer that?

07:59 Please do so.

08:00 Your Lordship's order was not just a ceremonial order to the Election Commission of Pakistan,

08:07 reminding the Election Commission of its constitutional obligations

08:12 and reminding how important a fair and free and transparent election is,

08:17 how the confidence of the people of Pakistan has to be conferred.

08:21 It was not a mere ritual.

08:23 Your Lordship sent it to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

08:26 It was meant to be enforced as such.

08:28 And what was the enforcement which is provided under section 184, 185, 186, 187

08:35 of the Electoral Act of 2017?

08:39 They have to ensure that the...

08:42 Who is they?

08:43 The Election Commission.

08:44 Exactly.

08:45 That's the very question.

08:46 That's the very question I posed to you, which you have not answered.

08:50 Please just wait.

08:51 You are seeking a contempt action against the IGs of the provinces and the chief secretaries.

08:57 [inaudible]

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