LAHORE: Amid protest by the opposition, the Punjab Assembly on Monday adopted an out of turn resolution demanding an end to intervention into the powers of the parliament and of the executive in the name of independence of judiciary.

The house also adopted two other resolutions: one calling for taking to task the perpetrators of May 9 incidents and the other seeking a complete ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags.

The ‘anti-intervention’ resolution, tabled after suspending all relevant rules and not circulated in the Press Gallery, was moved by treasury member Iftikhar Chachar.

It read that in the garb of independence of judiciary, intervention was made into the powers of the legislature and judges themselves admitted that innumerable suo motu notices were taken.

Tells judges not to ‘interfere in political cases, let executive do its duties’

It said that since the creation of the country one institution repeatedly transgressed its mandate and started interfering into the other institution after a few years, and demanded restoration of the sanctity and respect of the legislature.

Full text of the resolution is asunder:

“This House is of the opinion that the Constitution of Pakistan is a very sacred document which was unanimously passed by the Parliament of Pakistan in 1973. The strength of any state depends on the strength of its institutions. The more strong, active and reliable the state institutions are the more powerful and dignified the state will be.

“The constitution of Pakistan guarantees the tracheotomy of power. According to it, there are three main pillars of the state which are legislature, executive and judiciary. The beauty of our constitution is that it has clearly defined the boundaries of these three pillars. However, the history of Pakistan is a witness that whenever one of them crossed its boundaries and interfered in the boundaries of the other, the country plunged into crises.

“It has been 77 years since the establishment of Pakistan and 51 years since the Constitution of Pakistan, but even today it has not been decided in practice how the legislature, executive and judiciary should work in their respective spheres. Every once in a while, in view of some experiment or desire, one institution goes beyond its mandate and starts interfering in the affairs of another. This work started immediately after the establishment of Pakistan and continues even today. One of the sad aspects of Pakistani history is that instead of learning from past mistakes, these are repeated again with a mere change of characters.

“The 1973 Constitution was unique from previous constitutions in that it separated the judiciary from the executive and made it independent for the first time. However, through this independence sometimes interference was made into the sphere of the executive in the name of judicial activism.

“The executive i.e. administration is an important pillar of the state like the other two pillars but due to various reasons it has not been able to play its expected role. It is nevertheless an important fact that the more autonomous and independent the executive is, the better its performance will be. The weaknesses of the executive must be criticized but its good works should also be appreciated and unnecessary interference in its work should also be ended. Unfortunately, the negative impression about the executive has been widely spread in society due to which its credibility has been questionable in the eyes of the people.

“There is a long history of the judiciary repeatedly interfering with the constitutional limits of the executive under the guise of judicial activism. Article 184 of the 1973 Constitution was used indiscriminately and countless suo motu notices were taken. Sometimes the Emergency Plus of a dictator was not only given legal justification but also allowed to amend the Constitution, a relief which was not even asked for.

“The judiciary itself has been criticizing judicial activism. Justice Tariq Mehmood had said that such actions of the judiciary and the unnecessary interference of the Supreme Court in the affairs of other institutions and the executive would destroy the concept of separation of powers in the country. A prime minister was convicted of contempt of court and disqualified for five years under Article 63 for not writing to the Swiss authorities.

“[Using] judicial powers for interfering with the affairs of the executive was made [pointed out] by the honorable judges of the judiciary themselves in their verdicts. In the verdict of the five-member bench of the Supreme Court on May 17, 2022, two honorable justices had to write in their dissenting note that: “Article 63-A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a complete code in itself ... any further interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution, in our view, would amount to rewriting or reading into the Constitution...”

“This House is of the opinion that the judiciary should not hear such political cases which do not fall under the category of judicial review. In the guise of these cases, the executive is prevented from fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities which is inappropriate.

“This House is also of the opinion that all institutions and pillars should work within their respective constitutional limits so that Pakistan can be rescued from the crises it is facing.”

Another resolution said the House is of the considered opinion that May 9, 2023 is a tragic, dreadful, unforgettable and black chapter in the history of Pakistan.

It said the House considers that May 9 was a conspiracy plotted by the miscreants to achieve their ulterior motives by provoking the masses against the defence institution of Pakistan and directly damaging the national economy. It demanded that the establishment as well as the judiciary should take steps for immediately exposing the mastermind, plotters of May 9, 2023 tragedy, miscreants, negative propagandists, desecrators of national and army installations, those who endangered the national solidarity, damaged economy, deteriorated law & order, and pitched the masses against the institutions, and giving them the strictest punishment after completing the legal and judicial procedure.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2024