Pakistan PM said that it is time for the state institutions to get united for upholding the Constitution in order to keep the national interest supreme…reports Asian Lite News
Amid an ongoing Constitutional and political crisis in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the judiciary to reassess its role and become the protector of Constitution, media reports said.
“It does not happen anywhere in the world that a court issues a stay order against a legislation which is still in the making,” Sharif said while addressing the launch ceremony of the 1973 Constitution mobile application, Geo News reported.
He said that it is time for the state institutions to get united for upholding the Constitution in order to keep the national interest supreme, the report said.
Sharif is of the view that Pakistan is currently at the crossroads of Constitutional challenges, which require demonstration by the state institutions.
The Constitution has its roots in the Parliament and as per a globally recognised concept, the judiciary can only interpret the law, but cannot re-write it, the premier said, Geo News reported.
Sharif said the 1973 Constitution was the result of the hard toil of politicians from all backgrounds, who arrived at a consensus in the formulation of the sacred document.
He recalled that veteran politicians of their times, including former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Mufti Mehmood, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, and several other political leaders, rose above their political differences to write a Constitution that acted as a binding force for the federation.
Sharif said although politicians made mistakes in the past, it is time to rectify them.
“We have indeed learnt a lesson and we are making efforts to take Pakistan out of these problems,” Sharif said, Geo News reported.
Sharif criticised the Supreme Court’s order to render a bill curbing the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) as ineffective after it becomes law.
On March 28, the federal cabinet approved the bill and the National Assembly approved it a day later after making a few amendments that were suggested by the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, as per Dawn.
On March 30, Pakistan Senate passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which aims to curtail the office of the CJP of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity. However, Pakistan President Arif Alvi on April 8 returned the bill.
Later, two separate petitions challenging the bill in the apex court and the Islamabad High Court were moved, as per the news report.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif had called the Alvi’s decision “most unfortunate.” He had said the Pakistan President, through his decision, “belittled the august office by acting as a worker of the PTI.”
According to the legislation, a three-member bench, including the CJP and the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court will take a decision on whether or not to take up a matter suo motu, as per the Dawn report.
As per the law, each cause, matter or appeal before the Supreme Court will be heard and deposed by the bench. The legislation also involves the right to file an appeal within 30 days of the judgement in a suo motu case. (IANS/ANI)
