Pakistan’s Cabinet has formed a special committee to consider whether treason proceedings can be initiated against the PTI leadership under Article 6 of the Constitution. This comes a day after the Supreme Court released a detailed judgement explaining why it dismissed former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri’s controversial ruling on the no-trust move against then prime minister Imran Khan. Article 6 says whoever abrogates, subverts or suspends the Constitution (or tries to do so) by using force or other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason. Whether these acts attract Article 6 of the Constitution is also left open to be determined by the parliamentarians to ponder; should they leave open the doors for such unconstitutional acts or take suitable measures to stop such mess in future?, one of the judges on the bench wrote as an additional note. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the deputy speaker’s ruling was “not the outcome of a vote in the national assembly; instead, it was a unilateral decision”. The cabinet committee headed by the law minister will suggest measures that can be taken against Imran Khan and his government for violating the Constitution and present a report in the next Cabinet meeting.
