The ruling coalition would challenge the top court decision on the Punjab election delay after the Supreme Court amendment bill becomes law, Power Minister Khurram Dastgir said on Friday.

“We don’t want to stop elections,” he said at Shaukat Piracha show Rubaroo on Aaj News. “The decision violates the Constitution and law. Four judges have issued dissenting notes. Every time we have demanded that the chief justice forms a full court bench.”

The PDM has been looking for options to avoid the apex court ruling as the power struggle between the government and the top court continues. The National Assembly rejected on Thursday the top court order to conduct Punjab snap polls by passing a resolution.

It was the latest from the government after the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which was passed last month with an aim to clip the powers of the CJP.

Dastgir, who belongs to the PML-N, went on to add that the government also had the option to file a reference against the three judges, including the CJP.

“Last year, the Supreme Court gave a very inappropriate decision of 63A, which changed the government of more than 12 million people. After that, the court said that we have made a mistake. Therefore, it is our request that the light of transparency should reach the Supreme Court now,” he said.

The power minister was speaking about the former government of PML-N in Punjab, which was formed after the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan in April.

He accused Khan of causing rifts in the apex court by filing a reference against senior pusine judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The PML-N leader urged the chief justice to consult all judges to correct the “past record” in the court.

When asked about the National Security Committee meeting, PTI leader Imran Ismail said that it was hoped that heads of the institution would tell the government to resolve the issues by law and Constitution.

“The NA resolution has no value,” he said, adding that the government cannot end the Supreme Court ruling. “But Imran Khan and the party believe that the army chief will definitely play his role to maintain the rule of law.”

He was of the view that the dissenting note of Justice Athar Minallah on the election delay case had no value, saying that it was his opinion.

When asked about the reservations of the MQM, he said the Karachi-dominated party has never been part of an outgoing government. “MQM has put on a life jacket and is ready to jump. MQM will jump as soon as the elections are in sight,” he said.

The Karachi-dominated party had decided to support the PDM at the time of no-trust against the former PM. The development was followed after several rounds of meetings with the PTI and the government. But the MQM claims that the pact with the ruling coalition was signed on the assurances that their grievances, including census, would be resolved.

Ismail claimed that their former coalition partner has never been able to make its own decision. “Opening their offices was in the power of the people at whose behest they were running, it was not in my power to open the offices,” he said.

The former Sindh governor said that his party was not ready to delay elections. The party was ready to negotiate on the issue of elections to other assemblies apart from Punjab and KP elections, he added.

Former defence minister Lt Naeem Khalid Lodhi spoke about the Balochistan security situation.

“Some people in the province have legitimate grievances. Balochistan is a huge area where many projects have been made but no development has reached everywhere,” he said.

Lodhi claimed that enemies of Pakistan were eyeing Balochistan as they do not want to see the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor “successful”.

“BNA has links with other hostile intelligence agencies apart from Indian intelligence agency RAW,” he said and hailed the intelligence agencies’ effort to arrest the founder of banned group.