• Bilawal calls for such courts in provinces, says other parties to be contacted if Fazl refuses to lend support
• Tarar says parliament has sole jurisdiction to enact, amend laws; Aqeel denies law being made in ‘haste’
• Omar says PTI will resist move to set up ‘super court’

ISLAMABAD: While the ruling allies on Thursday assailed the judiciary for ‘interfering’ in constitutional matters and vowed to establish the proposed constitutional court at any cost, the opposition PTI termed the proposed forum a “super court” and resolved to block it.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said his party will never retreat from its stance on the formation of a constitutional court as it was the dream of his slain mother Benazir Bhutto and also promised in the Charter of Democracy signed between her and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2006.

Speaking at a Peoples Lawyers Forum (PLF) programme, the PPP leader said he believed that not only in the centre but constitutional courts should also be set up in provinces. He said the party’s lawyers’ wing gave the 1973 Constitution to the country and stood firm against every tyrant, whether in the form of dictators like Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf, or ex-chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhary.

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“The [matter of] appointment of judges, which constitutionally lies with the prime minister, was later transferred to the chief justice through judicial intervention. Attempts were made to address this in the 18th Amendment, following global examples like the United States, where legislators hold such powers.

“However, this effort was derailed by the so-called ‘handshake’ chief justice, who set a precedent for an insular judicial system. The doctrine of ‘political activism’ initiated by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary has since been propagated by figures like Saqib Nisar and Gulzar Ahmed,” he regretted.

He said the process of judicial appointments needs reform. Stressing the need for constitutional courts, he said only 15 per cent of the Supreme Court’s cases are constitutional, “yet these occupy significant portions of [the court’s] time”.

He said provinces need to have their own constitutional courts. “In provincial courts, 50 per cent of cases are related to constitutional matters. Legislation in this regard would provide meaningful relief to people seeking swift and timely justice,” he added.

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He lashed out at the judiciary for not giving prompt justice to people, saying ex-PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto got justice 50 years after his “judicial murder”. “Is it the responsibility of judiciary to fix prices of tomatoes and sugar,” he asked.

Later, speaking on ARY News, the PPP chairman endorsed a proposal regarding transfer of high court judges but said it should be done through the Judicial Commission of Pakistan or a proposed parliamentary body.

“When our cases are shifted from Sindh to Rawalpindi, why can’t the judges be transferred from one high court to another?” he asked.

About his meeting with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said it was decided that they would meet again in two days, but no one from the JUI-F had contacted him. He said the government allies had asked him that JUI-F was deceiving him.

“If the Maulana does not agree on the constitutional package, we will talk to any other party for support,” he added.

Meanwhile, Infor­ma­tion Minister Attaullah Tarar told a presser that parliament is supreme and has the sole jurisdiction to enact and amend laws.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel said the government would take opposition on board on the issue of constitutional court and would incorporate their positive suggestions. In a statement, he said the government was not making the proposed legislation in haste as it was working on it since its inception.

Separately, PTI leader Omar Ayub said that his party would never accept any “super court”, adding that there would be martial law in the country if the constitutional package was passed by parliament.

He said both Mr Bhutto-Zardari and Mr Tarar were not aware of the amendments when efforts were made last week to get them passed from parliament.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024