• Asif demands review of all controversial court decisions since 1947
• PAC chief seeks details of judges’ expenses, vows to summon court officials
• Body to probe audio leak featuring ex-CJP’s son

ISLAMABAD: The ongoing executive-judiciary standoff took a fresh turn on Tuesday when angry treasury and opposition members advised the National Assembly speaker not to comply with the Supreme Court’s latest directive, seeking the record of parliamentary proceedings regarding a law aimed at clipping some powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), saying they were ready to face all possible consequences of this ‘disobedience’.

“Enough is enough. If they want a war, then there will be a war. The parliament will not surrender,” Khawaja Asif said, and also for constituting a special parliamentary committee to examine and review all controversial decisions taken by the apex court since 1947.

Later, in an apparent tit-for-tat move, the National Assembly approved a motion authorising the speaker to constitute a committee to probe the alleged leak of a conversation between a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader and the son of former CJP Saqib Nisar, where the latter purportedly demanded Rs12 million for a party ticket in the Punjab Assembly elections.

The motion was moved by Shahida Akhtar Ali of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) after a number of lawmakers mentioned the latest audio leak in their speeches and called for action against those who had been “facilitating” PTI chief Imran Khan.

At the outset of the first NA sitting after Eid holidays, PML-N stalwart and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif lashed out at the judiciary for summoning the record of assembly proceedings, saying that parliamentary proceedings were open to the public and even telecast live.

He asked the speaker to write a letter to the CJP, asking him to provide the court’s proceedings of the hearing of the case regarding the law that had been passed by the parliament.

The defence minister said parliament was ready to provide a record of its proceedings, but on the condition that the apex court should also provide a record of its own proceedings and tell the nation how those judges, who had earlier recused themselves from hearing the case, were later included in the bench.

Mr Asif said the court was asking politicians to hold negotiations, whereas 15 judges were unable to sit together. He said the PTI had come to the power in 2018 with the help of “facilitators”, alleging that this facilitation was still available to the party.

Referring to the execution of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the disqualification of Yousuf Raza Gilani and Nawaz Sharif by the courts, the minister said the time had come for them to “protect” their prime ministers, irrespective of their political affiliation.

He asked the speaker to form a special committee to examine the martyrdom of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and disqualification of elected prime ministers, he added. He declared that the parliament, being the supreme institution and defender of the Constitution, would not “allow any extra-constitutional move, and surrender its supremacy and authority.”

The minister said a lawmaker received salary of Rs168,000 and always faced accountability whereas the judges were receiving big salaries, besides huge perks and privileges and even lifetime pensions, but who would make them accountable, recalling that perhaps only two judges had faced disqualification in the country’s judicial history.

PTI dissident and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Noor Alam Khan read out articles 66 and 69 of the Constitution and asked the speaker not to provide any record of house proceedings to the court.

He said that not only members of parliament, but even secretariat staff could not be summoned by any court with regard to parliamentary proceedings.

Article 66(1) states: “no member shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)], and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication by or under the authority of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.”

Article 69(2) says: “No officer or member of Majlis-i-Shoora (Parliament) in whom powers are vested by or under the Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct of business, or for maintaining order in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), shall be subject to the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers.”

“Yes, we will provide you the record of the proceedings, but only when you give us your own proceedings as to what is happening in the SC? How much money do you spend? How many bullet-proof cars do you have? And how many plots you have obtained?” said Mr Khan, regretting that the SC had previously stopped its registrar from appearing before the PAC in violation of the Constitution.

“I am calling the principal accounting officer of the Supreme Court to come to parliament and answer the questions of the honourable members… If he doesn’t come, then I tell you that I will issue his arrest warrants and I want the whole parliament to stand with me,” Mr Khan claimed amid desk-thumping by the members.

These views were supported by other MNAs, including independent Aslam Bhootani, PPP’s Shazia Marri and even the JI lawmaker.

Meanwhile, the speaker rescheduled the May 15 joint sitting of the parliament to be held on Thursday, while the NA will meet today (Wednesday).

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2023