The vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, charged the top court with “bench-fixing” in a raucous press conference on Monday. She implied that the same justices sit on the bench when the Supreme Court of Pakistan hears issues with political significance.
Alongside Maryam, other PDM leaders demanded that the court consider the current issue, which concerns the election of the chief minister of Punjab, by assembling a full-court bench in order to dispel this misconception.
The three-member top court bench has rejected the demand.However, is the accusation true? Is there a trend to the judges’ panel’s decisions in political cases?
prepared a list of some significant court cases from 2017 to the present involving political parties, in no specific order:
Justices Umar Ata Bandial, Ijaz ul Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, and Jamal Khan Mandokhail sit on the bench.
Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s decision was found to be unlawful; the National Assembly was reinstated.Justices Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Ijaz ul Ahsan, Ejaz Afzal Khan, Gulzar Ahmed, and Azmat Saeed are on the bench.
Verdict: A Joint Investigation Team will be formed to look into allegations of corruption against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
