Islamabad

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday set aside the Deputy Speaker's ruling to dismiss the no-trust resolution against Prime Minister Imran and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly  by President Arif Alvi on Prime Minister Imran Khan's advice, the Dawn reported.

A five-judge bench of the apex court ruled unanimously that President Dr Alvi's decision to dissolve the National Assembly was "illegal" and restored Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as his cabinet.

The Supreme Court ordered for the session of the National Assembly to reconvene on Saturday at 10:30am. saying that the session cannot be adjourned without the conclusion of the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the report said.

In anticipation of the verdict, security was beefed up at the SC premises with television footage showing riot police deployed outside the apex court.

The Supreme Court had also summoned Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, who arrived at the court with the poll panel’s legal team.

The Dawn report also said that a large number of lawyers, media personnel and politicians, including PML-N's Shehbaz Sharif and PPP's Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, were at the court ahead of the verdict.

A five-member bench headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail finished hearing the case earlier in the day.

Earlier, during the hearing, CJP Umar Ata Bandial said that it was clear that the April 3 ruling of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, which dismissed the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, was erroneous.

"The real question at hand is what happens next," he said, adding that now the PML-N counsel and the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan would guide the court on how to proceed.

Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif told the bench that he hoped that when the deputy Speaker’s ruling was suspended, the no-confidence motion would be revived and if the deputy Speaker was nullified, the dissolution of the assembly would end automatically, the Dawn said.

Sharif requested the top court to restore the National Assembly.