ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court on Friday rejected reports furnished by the defence ministry and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the 2017 Faizabad protest staged by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pak­is­tan (TLP) and directed them to file comprehensive explanations on Nov 22.

The apex court wondered about the country’s priorities asking if Pakistan was a functional state or should it be determined by street power. And then Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who is a member of the two-judge bench, said: “This country belongs to us and will be governed by the Constitution.”

Headed by Justice Mushir Alam, the SC bench had taken up the case pertaining to the 20-day sit-in in the capital staged by the TLP in November 2017. The bench was not happy when Deputy Attorney General Sohail Mahmood said Attorney General Anwar Mansoor was not available, because he was required in some other case in Lahore. Reminding the DAG that the case was fixed on the AG’s own request and convenience, the court questioned whether the AG was accountable before anyone or not.

“Please tell me how the case at hand is not important despite the fact that the entire country was paralysed [due to the protest],” Justice Isa asked.

During the hearing, Justice Isa also recalled the 126-day sit-in jointly staged by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in 2014 which blocked even the way of judges entering the Supreme Court.

And did any of the protesting parties ever ask for forgiveness after the special commission under Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk held that no rigging took place in the 2013 general elections, Justice Isa wondered.

“We should make this country beautiful by adhering to the principle of unity, faith and discipline as laid down by the country’s founder,” Justice Isa said, regretting that the political parties were obsessed with hatred against other parties but when their members switched sides all such venom vanished in thin air.

The court also mentioned the May 12, 2007 mayhem in Karachi where around 50 people, who attempted to welcome the then deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan on his arrival to address lawyers during their peaceful movement for the restoration of the independence judiciary, were killed. “But no one ever mentions these victims who shed their blood and lost their lives in the May 12 incident only because we were afraid of the sacred cows,” Justice Isa remarked.

While deploring the stance taken by the defence ministry that it was not the job of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) but of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to provide details of bank accounts or how much income tax the leaders of TLP had ever paid, Justice Isa asked the defence ministry’s Director (Legal), Brig Falak Naz, whether the ISI was governed under any law. “They cannot find out the details of what tax was being paid by them, but we will see to it if they interfere in other affairs which will not be falling in their domain,” Justice Isa cautioned.

While reading personal details of some TLP leaders, the SC judge regretted that everything had been responded with a nil.

The report stated that the party leaders were reportedly corrupt but there was no mention of what corruption they had committed, asked Justice Isa, also wondering who patronised such leaders. Ironically, he said, the names of their leaders were even placed on the Fourth Schedule list that dealt with those who had been proscribed.

When Justice Isa asked if it was not the job of the agency to make Pakistan a safer place, Brig Naz said the ISI was a national security agency and he could brief the bench in camera about its mandate.

The SC bench observed that peaceful protest, but not violence, was the right of everyone. “Will we allow someone to paralyse the entire country and claim to deal with them sternly if they come again and stage sit-in in the future and when they put everything on fire, negotiate with them and reach a settlement?” Justice Isa asked.

The apex court was not pleased with the stance taken by the ECP when its director general (legal) Mohammad Arshad conceded that the TLP had not provided financial details of their election campaign but added that those provisions were “cosmetic” having no consequences for the political parties for defying.

The SC bench regretted that the ECP had been made a complete independent institution under the Constitution, but the commission claimed to be toothless and unable to do anything about the political party for defiance of the law. “What will the ECP say if the commission asks for the details and the party responds by saying go to hell?” Justice Isa remarked.

“This is a bizarre and absurd stand taken by the ECP,” Justice Isa said, asking if the TLP was not submitting details of their election expense then why it should not be presumed that their source of funds were from unknown source of income.

Instead of withholding election symbols for such parties, why the ECP didn’t tell the parties which had never provided election details that they would not be allowed to contest the election, the court asked.

SC unhappy with Pemra

The SC was not happy with the stance taken by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) chairman Mohammad Saleem Baig when he said Geo News had withdrawn its complaint against blocking of the channel or changing channel number of its transmission. He said the channel withdrew the complaint because its grievances had been met.

The chairman could not satisfy the court on the actions the authority had taken against the cable operators for changing the channel number or blocking its transmission. He said Pemra issued show-cause notices to some cable operators and imposed Rs50,000 fine.

About DawnNews channel, the Pemra chairman explained that the channel never moved any complaint though he personally met Hameed Haroon. The chairman could not answer whether Pemra issued any advisory to the channels and was involved in manipulating channels.

“The authority must have pressurised the channels to withdraw their complaint,” Justice Isa said, also regretting that the chairman had no idea about the secret advisories coming to the media.

Rejecting the reports furnished by Pemra, defence ministry and the ECP, the Supreme Court ordered them to come up with fresh but comprehensive explanations by removing the deficiencies highlighted during the course of hearing.

The case hearing will resume on Nov 22.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018