ISLAMABAD - Not bringing into debate the political aspect of the Supreme Court’s decision of disqualifying Nawaz Sharif as party president, the decision has serious constitutional implication as the fate of PML-N candidates for upcoming Senate elections hangs in the balance as the disqualification of Sharif was since his assuming the office of party president on October 3.

Another alarming aspect of the development was that the signals coming from top hierarchy of the party were quite hostile and defiant and it seemed that in coming days the ruling PML-N would step up its campaign against the superior judiciary and would continue to tread the confrontational course.

Since his disqualification in the Panama case, Nawaz Sharif had gradually built the momentum against his disqualification and now the party was all out to criticise the judges and their decisions in more blatant and blunt way.

The current decision of the apex court disqualifying Nawaz Sharif as party chief has created both political and constitutional crisis for the ruling PML-N because the fate of candidates having the PML-N tickets for upcoming Senate elections slipped into disarray and may result into the delay in the Senate elections scheduled for March 3.

Now under the constitution the candidates required fresh party tickets to contest these elections from the platform of PML-N otherwise the option of these candidates contesting as independent candidates was there.

Similarly the fate of the recently held Lodhran by-polls also stand in dispute as winning PML-N candidate from the constituency had secured party ticket from Nawaz Sharif whose all acts as party chief were declared void ab initio by the court.

On political front, the PML-N leaders were downplaying the decision and said that Nawaz Sharif was above the party portfolio and ruling the hearts of people of Pakistan and such verdicts could not affect his popularity in the masses.

Though the senior party leaders like party chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and Central Information Secretary Mushahid Ullah Khan came up with guarded reflection on the verdict of apex court but they too made it loud and clear that Nawaz Sharif’s continue to head the party and party portfolios are immaterial in this connection.

The most alarming aspect of the development was that ruling PML-N leaders were determined to tread the confrontational course and would continue to carry forward the narrative of restoring the sanctity of vote and establishment of Nizam-i-Adl(rule of law) in the country.

With the same spirit in mind a couple of days back the ruling PML-N Parliamentary Party decided to bring under debate the conduct of judges in the Parliament and it started from the office of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who had himself criticised the demeanour of the superior judges for dubbing political leaders as thieves, Sicilian mafia and godfather.

Legal and constitutional experts said that such a decision by the ruling party’s parliamentary party in itself had imperilled the system because bringing in question the functioning of superior judiciary, its decisions and demeanour of the judges of apex courts would pitch state institutions against each other in sheer violation of the constitution.

Insiders in the ruling PML-N informed that the direction of targeting superior judiciary came directly from top party leadership, which was already targeting the superior judiciary and judges in their public gatherings and committing contempt of court every now and then.

Actually the ruling PML-N after getting massive response from public to their narrative against the superior judiciary wanted to keep the pressure up on the superior judiciary and now they have decided to bring in question the superior judiciary at the Parliament’s forum.

Political analysts said that the future course of PML-N would be clear in a next few days as it greatly depends on who would be brought in to fill the slot of party president. They said in case Shahbaz Sharif, most likely choice with the party leadership, would be given the reins of party, the things would turn to normalisation as he was averse to the policy of confrontation, but in case someone else would be brought in, the existing tension would further escalate between the institutions making the incumbent political dispensation more vulnerable to mishaps.