• Registrar returns plea filed by SCBA’s Abid Zuberi; terms question posed in petition ‘hypothetical’
• PBC decries ‘secrecy’ surrounding Constitutional Package; lawyers’ body to study proposed amendment

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has said that proposed constitutional amendments can’t be challenged at this stage, since they are yet to be passed by parliament.

Meanwhile on Thursday, lawyers continued to express concerns over the government’s attempts to “secretly” amend the Constitution.

The SC registrar office returned a petition moved by former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Abid Shahid Zuberi, seeking to stop the government from tabling the ‘Constitutional Package’ in parliament.

In a one-page letter, the assistant registrar referred to the direction from the registrar’s office to return the petition, which raised “hypothetical questions”.

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It said that under the Constitution, the power to make laws lies with parliament, and it cannot be curtailed before a law has been passed.

The registrar also objected to the officials who have been cited as respondents in the petition.

It said members of the National Assembly and Senate, who have the power to make laws, have not been made parties in the petition.

The federal government and provincial governments, principal secretaries to the president and prime minister, listed as respondents, are not members of parliament.

The principal secretaries to the PM and president cannot be made parties in a petition as they have immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.

The said article states: “The President, a Governor, the Prime Minister, a Federal Minister, a Minister of State, the Chief Minister and a Provincial Minister shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise of powers and performance of functions of their respective offices or for any act done or purported to be done in the exercise of those powers and performance of those functions.”

The registrar also said the petitioners mentioned themselves as advocates and members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), whereas the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act stipulates that lawyers should not become parties in any matter.

If the petitioners have a grievance, they should first approach their respective lawyers’ bodies for authorisation to represent them in the case.

PBC expresses concerns

On Thursday, the PBC expressed serious concerns over the government’s attempts to modify the Constitution.

A meeting of the PBC executive committee presided over by its vice chairman, Farooq Hamid Naek, regretted that the secrecy surrounding the legislation could be construed as “a blatant violation of the norms of parliamentary parties, rule of law and democratic values”.

Such acts also tarnish the reputation of parliament and its members who are the chosen representative of people, the PBC executive committee members said.

The meeting also discussed the proposed amendments and made some changes to the draft before deferring the matter till its next meeting fixed on September 25.

The PBC, along with provincial bar councils and associations have unanimously voiced concern over what they called attempts to change the basic structure of the Constitution and vowed to resist any such move.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024