Legal Expert Shahbaz Khosa speaks up on SIC reserved case | Faisla Aaj Sunaya Jayega
Legal Expert Shahbaz Khosa speaks up on SIC reserved case | Faisla Aaj Sunaya Jayega
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00:00First of all, tell us, the judges in the full court, did they have a discussion?
00:06Obviously, we were getting to know from the reporters that you are an expert in law.
00:10Please tell us, before the decision, this type of discussion,
00:14should we consider it a routine or is it a very extraordinary thing?
00:19Yes, there is a discussion.
00:22The way the full court discussion was done,
00:24if not in a closed room, then it was done in a full court.
00:30There was a discussion, it is a good thing, it happens.
00:33But in this case, it was done in this way, it was highlighted more and it was extraordinary.
00:37But it is a good thing that there was a discussion.
00:40The questions that remain in the minds of the judges,
00:44they themselves discuss them from each other's point of view.
00:48And after that, it is a very important case,
00:52it has to affect all the people, so it is a very good thing to have a discussion.
00:57But the various forums that were there, in which the Peshawar High Court,
01:00first the Election Commission, based on the election of the intra-party,
01:07the way the decision was given, against that we saw that both the parties,
01:12the PTI and the Sunni Tihad Council, their own opinions came forward.
01:15The decision of the Peshawar High Court came, then the Supreme Court,
01:18and then this case went to the larger bench.
01:20What do you think about the stages in which this case has gone?
01:24Has the importance of this case increased so much that it will be decided for the future,
01:29that in such a situation, the seats of any Jamaat can be given to other Jamaats or not.
01:35So, can we say this decision is historical?
01:39Look, may Allah not let Pakistan go through such a situation again,
01:44and any election is in such a situation,
01:47where one party is made to try to bring it under control,
01:51and after that, the scattered parts of that party are gathered,
01:56and those poor people fight the election.
01:58May Allah not let this happen again in Pakistan.
02:00So, these were very strange situations, extraordinary situations,
02:04in which this election took place.
02:06The way the PTI was tried to break,
02:09the way press conferences were held with their people,
02:13other parties were made in between,
02:15and then finally, when another party was elected,
02:19Ballehbaz, so what happened with that, that too is in front of everyone.
02:22Till today, the leadership of the PTI is behind bars,
02:26and how the elections were decided,
02:30in what circumstances, that too is in front of everyone.
02:32So, these were very extraordinary circumstances,
02:35and the constitution lays down broad principles.
02:39No one in our country can predict such a situation.
02:46So, in these circumstances, basically, what is the intention of the constitution?
02:49The intention of the constitution, in Article 51, 6G and C and D,
02:55the intention of the reserved seat is that,
02:57the way the people vote,
03:00the same way reserved seats should be given to women and minorities,
03:06to those people who have been backed by the Jamaat.
03:10Now, in this case, the Jamaat was the problem,
03:12because Qazi Sahab gave a decision at 11.30 and snatched Balleh.
03:16With the decision of snatching Balleh,
03:20the election commission kept saying,
03:22that this might have ended the party,
03:26whereas Qazi Sahab clarified that the party had not ended,
03:29we never said that.
03:31So, these things were extraordinary,
03:34and in such decisions, you don't have to look at the election act,
03:42you have to look at the intention of the constitution,
03:45and the intention of the constitution is to get the people their rights.
03:49The Supreme Court is also a big court,
03:52it is not a small court that taps on the line.
03:56It will look at the broader principle of what the purpose of the law is.
04:00The purpose of the law is not at all
04:02that the Jamaat should get reserved seats,
04:05who have not even taken a vote in the election.
04:07So, the purpose of the law is,
04:09which people saw on 8th February,
04:13that a specific Jamaat,
04:16despite not having its own symbol,
04:19its backed candidates,
04:21by looking for their symbols,
04:24people went and voted with great difficulty,
04:26as a result of which,
04:28these free candidates were elected.
04:30And these were not free candidates,
04:32everyone knows that these were PTI backed candidates.
04:36Now, if a political party is written there,
04:39and you use all the machinery to try and finish that party,
04:45will this change the intention of the law?
04:48Will we become beggars of the line?
04:50But the legal provisions that were coming in,
04:53okay, everyone knew that they were PTI backed candidates,
04:57but they were free,
04:59and of course,
05:00all these decisions were made by the Election Commission.
05:04Then, the party with which they were elected,
05:07their own Mr. Hamid Raza,
05:09he fought the elections as a free candidate,
05:11then he did not get the preferred seats.
05:13So, these are the legal complications,
05:16because the Supreme Court has to decide on the basis of the law.
05:20Look, these legal complications,
05:22which you are talking about,
05:23that who had to apply for which date for which symbol,
05:26these are the laws of the Election Act.
05:28The Election Act is not a bigger act than the Constitution of Pakistan.
05:34The Constitution is supreme.
05:35First of all, the Constitution is at the top.
05:38And the Supreme Court is also a constitutional court.
05:41The Supreme Court also has to decide on the basis of the law.
05:47This is not a traffic signal law,
05:50that if you cross the red light, you will be fined.
05:53In what circumstances did you not apply for the party,
05:57or in what circumstances did these free candidates,
06:00who were basically not free,
06:03these people were told through their symbol,
06:05and repeatedly through the PTI website and PTI portal,
06:10that these are the candidates of PTI.
06:12The people who went to vote,
06:13they did not even know the names,
06:15that who are these people,
06:16who are standing,
06:17they only knew that this is Imran Khan's candidate.
06:21That is why they went and voted for them.
06:23So, to say that these were free people,
06:25they were not free at all.
06:26These people were PTI backed candidates.
06:30And the Constitution also says,
06:33that the way the people have voted,
06:36you will give the same ratio to those people,
06:40to the minorities, to the women as well.
06:42This can be proven legally.
06:46Everyone knows that they were PTI backed.
06:48But on papers, after the election commission said,
06:54that you have not held intraparty elections,
06:57that you have not done it on time,
06:58that a lot of issues have been taken up with symbols.
07:00So, can this be proven legally?
07:03Look, this is in front of you.
07:06Now, if we close our eyes,
07:08what proof is left in this?
07:11What has been happening in this country for the past year and a half,
07:14what is the need to prove this,
07:16this is in front of everyone.
07:17The second thing is that this is basically a Supreme Court,
07:22a Constitutional Court.
07:23In this, all the illegalities that have taken place,
07:28we have to look at the decision from above,
07:30and we have to look at a decision,
07:32which is the job of the judges to give such a decision,
07:36which gives the spirit of the law to the people,
07:40and the decision for the people.
07:42They don't give it to rectify any government situation.
07:49And you should also see that all this confusion,
07:52if they had not decided to take away the symbol,
07:55if they had not decided to take away the baton,
07:57then all this confusion would not have happened.
07:59So, they will have to take care of this decision,
08:02which they did,
08:03and that is why they held these meetings again and again.
08:07You saw, there were a lot of hearings,
08:09there were nine very heated hearings,
08:12the judges kept asking questions to each other,
08:15and everyone has tried to address all the issues here.
08:21This was an extraordinary situation,
08:24and in this extraordinary situation,
08:26we should hope that in our court,
08:29there are a lot of senior judges,
08:30this is a 13-room larger bench,
08:32they will make a good decision,
08:34and this will benefit the people,
08:37instead of making a wrong decision
08:40on the basis of technicality,
08:42which will make the people speechless.
08:45The fact is that the people,
08:47came out on 8th February and expressed their will,
08:52in what circumstances,
08:53this is in front of everyone,
08:54the people are waiting for this decision,
08:58now this decision is in the hands of the judges.
09:00Mr. Khosla, one last thing,
09:01obviously, the decision that the court will give,
09:03that decision will come in front of us,
09:05but apart from two options,
09:07is there a third option,
09:09that either the Sunni Ta'at Council will get this session,
09:12or the current situation will remain the same,
09:15or is there a third option in the form of a decision?
09:20Whatever happens, God willing,
09:21will happen according to the law,
09:23in my opinion, the court will make a decision,
09:27after a thorough study of the law and the constitution,
09:32according to the law and the constitution,
09:33instead of making a decision on the basis of technicality,
09:37to overreach a problem,
09:41I think they will make a decision according to the law and the constitution.