Judicial dictatorship not acceptable: Bilawal

SUKKUR: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who is also the Chairman of PPP, on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to form full court sans “two controversial judges” in the case of postponement of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa polls to pull the country out of the constitutional crisis.

His statement comes after the Supreme Court’s three-member bench nullified the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone the polls in Punjab. Addressing a gathering in Larkana to mark the 44th death anniversary of the late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bilawal demanded the apex court to remove the two judges from the bench “who were caught talking to the opposition on the phone”. He said the PPP is ready to contest the elections anytime if the issue of early polls in the two assemblies — Punjab and KP — is settled by the full court. The fate of a ruler and the decisions of the country should not be made by a judge but by the people, he said. “Judicial dictatorship is not acceptable to us,” said Bilawal, adding, “If the crisis continues, it will rule out all political forces, including us and Imran.” Bilawal said it was strange that when the floor-crossing took place, the courts did not intervene and left the matter to the parliament. Referring to the apex court verdict on Article 63-A related to the defection clause, the PPP chief said, “Judiciary took away the throne of Lahore from PDM and gave it to Pervaiz Elahi as a result of which the country is suffering from political crisis.” He also questioned Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial’s refusal to constitute a full court on the polls delay case, saying, “If there is no difference among the SC judges, then what is the issue in constituting a full court? You can save the country from the constitutional crisis by making a full court.”