When CJP Umar Ata Bandial said “Monday’s sun will rise with good news” during the hearing on the Punjab delay case, many started scratching their heads about what it would be. The remarks were given in a detailed hearing on Friday–a day when a judge recused himself from being part of the bench, laying bare the cracks within the Supreme Court.

To know what it would be, Shaukat Piracha hosted Pakistan Bar Council Chairman Hassan Raza Pasha, former head of Islamabad Bar Council Shoaib Shaheen, and senior journalist Mazhar Abbas on his show Rubaroo on Sunday. They also discussed the impasse between the government and PTI as the CJP had also called for negotiations to reduce the friction.

“This is in chief sb’s mind. I am not in a position to predict it. I think the three-member bench is determined to carry forward its March 1 order and give direction for its implementation. The government is apparently planning to boycott the decision,” PBC Chairman Pasha said.

Pasha, who has appeared in the hearings, said if the government goes with their decision then there were 30 days to appeal it under the new amendment. He added that the president, who belongs to the PTI, would try to take the maximum time, which is around 20 days, to delay it.

Parliament recently passed a draft bill, aimed at curtailing the power of the CJP to form benches and take suo motu. It now awaits assent from President Arif Alvi to become law.

When asked about the possibility of reference against the three judges hearing the case, former Islamabad Bar council head Shaheen described it as a “pressurizing tactic”.

A reference was filed when a judge did any misconduct, corruption or embezzlement, he said, adding that the constitution of bench or a judicial pronouncement does not justify a judicial reference.

He went on to explain that a full court was formed when there was some ambiguity (ibham) in the Constitution or any big decision where interpretation of the Constitution is involved. Last time, a full court was formed when there was a matter of military court pertaining to a constitutional amendment.

But, senior journalist Abbas disagreed with Shaheen’s argument. A full court should be formed to correct the “historic wrongs” of the judiciary, he argued.

Abbas, who has spent a lot of time on court reporting in his 40 years career, said that in the past martial law or takeover of the government was given legitimacy and never an attempt was made to correct it. The judiciary has become so politicised, he lamented and added the goal of an independent judiciary, which started in 2007 with the lawyers’ movement, was not achieved.

“The SC has become glamorised and the judiciary is limited to the SC. We see the public appearance of judges. The SC is the mother court. They should lay down some basic principles and they should think a lot after taking political cases as they become politicised, the journalist said.

Pasha also agreed with the full court demand and urged Shaheen, who belongs to the PTI, to request Imran Khan to follow it. He was of the view that it was a must to avoid the constitutional crisis.

He supported his argument with reasons that a judge, without naming him, was part of benches formed to hear 73 high-profile cases over the years. While a senior judge was made part of only three cases, he added.

“If pick and choose comes in political matters, the loser will cry foul,” Pasha said.

When asked about the election conundrum, Mazhar wondered whether the local bodies election time frame was not mentioned in the Constitution or law and did the bench ever take up this matter.

“I don’t know whether we should celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Constitution or the 50th death anniversary. Has ever judiciary safeguarded the Constitution,” he said. According to the senior journalist, the ECP should have written a letter to SC asking how they can conduct elections under the circumstances where they don’t have funds, personnel, and security.

During the show, the host played a clip from former PTI leader Nadeem Afzal Chan’s recent interview in which he alleged that former spy chief General Faiz Hameed was part of the party not part of the establishment.

In reply, Shaheen said such a claim should be investigated as Chan was now a member of the PPP, not the PTI. The Islamabad Bar Council added that a working relationship was a different thing.

“I still say if the establishment is apolitical then they will play a role in bringing Pakistan on track,” he said.