Background Negotiations With Judges Underway, Claims Umar Cheema

Background Negotiations With Judges Underway, Claims Umar Cheema
The decision of the Supreme Court in the election delay case, regardless of how controversial it may be, will have a strong impact on the PML-N too, and so negotiations are ongoing with the judges, says Umar Cheema.

According to the investigative journalist, such negotiations are carried out via 'common friends', lawyers, or those who are mutually acceptable.

When asked by journalist Azaz Syed during the podcast as to why the government has begun to talks about filing references against the judges, Cheema said, "It is a carrot and stick policy aimed at pressuring the other side."

He added that the intentions of the apex court regarding the verdict seem clear, while it is also a high-stake case for the government.

Earlier today, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the government is considering filing references against the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and two other judges hearing PTI’s plea against Punjab election delay.

The move comes hours after the coalition partners expressed ‘no confidence’ in the three-member SC bench hearing PTI’s election plea.

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“We are considering filing references against the three judges including the Chief Justice,” Sanaullah told Independent Urdu.

He clarified that the decision to file the references hasn’t been made yet but such a decision is a possibility.

Prior to Sanaullah's interview, the government coalition expressed ‘no confidence’ in the three-member SC bench hearing PTI’s petition against Punjab election delay.

The bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar is hearing the plea against the ECP’s postponement of the polls to October 8.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the coalition leaders asked the top court to end the proceedings in view of the four-member majority decision reached in the earlier suo motu hearing.

They lamented that CJP Bandial ‘wants to impose the decision of the minority on the verdict of the majority’.