News
May 05 , 2023
National Assembly Firms up Stance against Judicial Overreach
Islamabad: Lawmakers in the National Assembly have demanded a full-house committee to investigate constitutional violations [committed by the judiciary] by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Munir and other judges till date and said that it is unfortunate that two constitutional institutions (parliament and apex court) are interpreting the Constitution differently.
The parliamentarians for the second consecutive day registered their strong protest over the Supreme Court order of demanding the record of proceedings of the lower house of the parliament regarding the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which curtails the powers of the top judge
An eight-member bench of the top court, which is currently hearing the petitions against the controversial law, had a day earlier directed Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan to produce copies of the proceedings of the standing committee and the house "to understand the concerns and views of the lawmakers while passing the bill".
The members proposed to form a committee of the house to thoroughly debate the matter regarding the apex court’s demand for the record of the proceedings.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, in a hard-hitting speech in the House, remarked that both the institutions [the parliament and the Supreme Court] have visibly locked horns with each other.
He proposed to constitute a committee to analyze the results of orders by former chief justice of Pakistan Muhammad Munir and others. “A resolution needs to be adopted to form a full-house committee to investigate constitutional violations [committed by the judiciary] from Justice Munir till date,” he said.
About the pending cases in the court, he said there were around 180,000 cases pending before the senior judiciary including 51,000 in the apex court. He said it was their basic responsibility to dispose of cases and not entangle in political wrangling.
Senior PML-N MNA Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the house's record cannot be handed over to the top court without informing the National Assembly members. "This is a very serious matter. This house is supreme and the creator of the Supreme Court," Abbasi, who is also a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said.
Opposition leader Raja Riaz was also not in favor of sharing the assembly record with the apex court. PPP-P’s MNA and Federal Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar remarked that positive progress had been made on various points in the ongoing talks between the government and the PTI.
He said the government wanted to solve the issues amicably with the PTI and desired success and progress on this front. The minister said that it was the stance of the Pakistan Peoples Party that political issues could be solved through dialogue. Qamar urged all the political forces to stand united to keep the political process and the parliament going.
PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan said that audit of the Supreme Court has not been conducted in at least a decade. “We have summoned the Supreme Court’s principal accounting officer and we have also sought the details of the Mohmand Dam Fund,” he said, adding that the committee has also sought the record of salaries and plots obtained by judges of the apex court, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Noor Alam Khan said the committee is also going to acquire the record of the dam funds collected by former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.
Later, the House passed a unanimous resolution, affirming the obligation of the government to safeguard and uphold press freedom against any form of censorship and undue interference. The resolution moved by Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto recommended that the government should protect freedom of press from censorship and violence and promote its full realization in accordance with its international human rights obligations, essential for functioning of democratic societies and vital for protection of other human rights.
The House recognized the critical role of journalists and media professionals in providing accurate, timely and impartial information to the public and the need to protect them from violence, intimidation and harassment.
The lawmakers resolved to take effective measures to ensure the safety, security and independence of journalists to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for the protection of press freedom and to promote pluralistic, diverse and vibrant media environment in Pakistan. – The Nation
Courtesy The Nation
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