US lawmaker urges Pakistan political parties to obey SC rulings

• US congressman speaks to Imran Khan.
• SC order on Punjab, KP polls comes under discussion.
  
• Brad Sherman says parties must adhere to rule of law.

The United States representative of California’s 32nd congressional district, Brad Sherman, has urged the political parties of Pakistan to abide by the rulings of the Supreme Court, as the political crisis in Pakistan deepens with the ruling alliance refusing to implement the top court's verdict on provincial elections.

The US lawmaker discussed the SC's order to conduct the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on a phone call on Tuesday.

He reportedly encouraged the PTI chief to obey the rule of law and the verdict of the Supreme Court.

Taking to Twitter, Sherman shared some details of his conversation with the ousted prime minister. He said that he was surprised to know that Khan was working in the wee hours of the morning.

“For democracies to function, the parties must adhere to the rule of law and rulings of the Supreme Court," Sherman wrote on Twitter.

It was a victory for PTI when the top court gave the verdict in the election delay case favouring the party, which has been demanding new polls in the country for almost a year.

The US congressmen and influential figures have lately been speaking in the favour of Imran Khan, especially since his party has engaged another lobbying firm in Washington.

Ruling alliance still smarting over SC verdict

Meanwhile, the coalition government is on a warpath with the SC after a three-judge bench unanimously declared as unconstitutional the Election Commission’s order to delay the elections in Punjab.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, during a meeting of the coalition parties, that a mockery of the country's Constitution and law was being made and the fate of the nation was being decided with strange decisions.

The meeting discussed different options to effectively respond to the verdict, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz took a stricter stance saying the government should go beyond merely rejecting the decision.

Shehbaz said the allied parties also held a consultative meeting with the lawyers’ community.

PML-N Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari participated in the meeting through a video link. Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz insisted that a reference should be filed against the judges who were part of the three-member bench.

The other participants of the meeting were of the view that the parliament should assert its supremacy and there should be no apologetic approach while adopting a tough stance.