• Presidential approval of poll date presented to apex court
• CJP regrets issue needlessly brought to judiciary
• Media warned against creating doubts about elections

ISLAMABAD: A day after a decisive meeting between the president and the chief election commissioner to agree on a poll date, the Supreme Court on Friday expressed the confidence that general elections would be held without disruption on Feb 8 next year.

However, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, presiding over a three-judge bench, regretted that an issue that should have been a straightforward agreement bet­ween President Arif Alvi and the ECP was unnecessarily brought to the judiciary.

But the top court was aware of its constitutional limits and avoided overstepping into the domains of the president and the ECP, the Supreme Court said in a detailed order after it received a formal election date confirmation from the Presidency.

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan submitted the official communication to the apex court, marking the consensus on the Feb 8 poll date. Similarly, the ECP brought on record documents, including minutes from Thursday’s meeting.

The Supreme Court’s action was in response to petitions filed by various stakeholders, including the Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, and individuals Munir Ahmad and Ibadur Rehman, who voiced concerns over the absence of an election timetable.

Apart from Chief Justice Isa, two other judges of the bench were Justice Aminud Din Khan and Justice Athar Minallah.

The court order also observed that the Sept 13 letter of the president and the stance taken by the ECP that apparently created the impasse had placed the Supreme Court in an awkward position because neither the Constitution nor any law prescribes the court to determine the election date.

The Supreme Court said that it held the office of the president in the highest regard and was surprised that the president sought guidance in a matter that neither the apex court nor any court of the country had any concern.

If the president needed to be advised at all, he should have sought the opinion of the Supreme Court under Article 186 of the Constitution, the court suggested, adding that the holder of every constitutional office or body, which includes the president and the ECP, should undertake what the Constitution requires it to do.

Abiding by the Constitution is not optional and it is equally important that every constitutional body should not transgress into the constitutional domain of the other because it will have consequences, the court said.

Being conscious of the constitutional scheme and fully cognisant of the fact that the Supreme Court was not vested with such powers, it simply facilitated the president and ECP to meet and determine what lay within their constitutional domain, the court emphasised.

“We may add the higher the constitutional office or the constitutional body, the greater the responsibility upon it,” the court said, adding that the obedience to the Constitution and law was an inviolable responsibility of every citizen as suggested by Article 5 of the Constitution.

Added responsibility and obligation are placed upon those who take the oath of respective offices as prescribed in the third schedule of the Constitution, the court reminded.

It is now the 50th year of subsistence of the Constitution and there is no longer any excuse for anyone not to be fully aware of the Constitution, the court reminded.

Incidentally, 15 years ago on this very day, a constitutional transgression was made that had grave and long-lasting effects in the country, the court recalled, referring to a state of emergency declared by military dictator Pervez Musharraf on Nov 3, 2007.

It is about time we not only start abiding by the Constitution but also learn from the chequered history of the constitutional transgressions since each transgression had a calamitous effect both on the people as well as the territory of Pakistan, the court said.

Besides, the courts should also not be unnecessarily involved in matters in apparent disputes since considerable time is taken up by proceeding to redress and resolve such matters, the court regretted.

Not too long ago, the same president (Dr Alvi) had dissolved the National Assembly at the time when the then prime minister (Imran Khan) was facing a no-confidence motion, the court regretted.

It said the Constitution was clear that when the prime minister was facing a vote of no confidence, the power to dissolve the National Assembly was no longer available.

Nevertheless, it happened, leading to a constitutional crisis. As a result, the apex court had to redress the situation in a suo motu case when the five-judge bench unanimously held that the prime minister’s advice to the president was unconstitutional and had no legal effect.

Friday’s court order said that every constitutional officeholder and the body should ensure strict compliance with the Constitution to the benefit of the people of Pakistan, adding that it was about time that every institution developed maturity.

“It is with utmost humility we feel we had a small hand in facilitating the president and the ECP to meet, which was facilitated by AGP, and thus the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all,” the court order noted.

The order also mentioned that the representatives of the four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory also had no reservations about holding elections on Feb 8.

During the hearing, CJP Isa also cautioned that if anybody, including the media, tried to create doubts about the holding of elections, they would be indulging in a violation of the Constitution.

Don’t create misgivings, he observed, adding that “we respect the freedom of the media, but the court will not tolerate if the Constitution is undermined”. He said the media was recognised as the fourth pillar of the state, but it was not acceptable that they should spread negativity instead of positivity.

If someone has any doubts about the elections, they should air it with his spouse but not publicly, the CJP observed, also reminding that Article 19 ensures freedom of the press but it also poses certain responsibilities. Justice Isa asked the ECP to report to Pemra if a TV channel undermines the Constitution and tries to influence public opinion by creating negativity for no rhyme or reason.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2023