Pakistan's Lower House unanimously adopts motion against chief justice

Pakistan’s National Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted a motion seeking the formation of a special committee to file a case against Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial in the Supreme Judicial Council for his “misconduct and deviating from oath”, escalating the tension between the government and the top judiciary.
 

The motion — moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Shazia Sobia — was unanimously adopted by the house, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
 

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that the time has come for Parliament to play its constitutional role in this situation. He demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee to probe the judiciary’s undue support to Imran as well as sending a reference to the Supreme Judicial Council on the matter.
 

Meanwhile, Imran Khan appeared before the Lahore High Court, which fixed his bail hearing on Tuesday in the cases registered against him following his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. Khan was accompanied by his wife Bushra Bibi, who was granted pre-arrest bail till May 23.