KARACHI: Former prime minister and Awaam Pakistan (AP) party convener Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday said that the 26th Amendment had dismantled the structure of checks and balances established by the Constitution, making the judiciary subordinate to the executive.

Speaking to the legal community on the invitation of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) at the new bar room in City Courts, he said: “There’s no doubt that lawmaking is the domain of parliamentarians, but this parliament was born out of a stolen election, with the 26th Amendment as a glaring example.”

“Those who were willing to pass the amendment without even reading it are now the ones who will be involved in selecting judges,” he added.

The AP convener said: “Parliament can’t alter the basic structure of the Constitution. When the Constitution was being formulated, a framework was established that included a structure of checks and balances. Today that structure has been dismantled through this amendment.”

Former PM Abbasi tells lawyers incumbent parliament was born out of ‘stolen election’

Mr Abbasi said that earlier the judiciary was engaged in politics as the former chief justice was used to constituted benches on his will, but the solution was not to “cut off the head to cure a headache”.

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Referring to former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa — who retired on Oct 25 — he said that when attempts were being made to remove him, everyone stood by his side. However, it was unfortunate that the same Faez Isa had “created obstacles” for the upcoming chief justice, he said while referring to Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

“The government is bent on destroying state institutions to strengthen its own grip on power,” the AP leader said, adding that the government amended laws to prevent the judiciary from raising any objections, ensuring no one held it accountable.

He said that under the new amendment, a committee — comprising representatives from a “few major parties” — would oversee the selection of judges.

Mr Abbasi emphasised that only those judges should be appointed who had undergone a system of accountability that assessed their qualifications, assets, and entire life conduct.

He added that stakeholders should have been consulted before making such an amendment. The amendment had set a record as the fastest amendment ever passed in the country, if not the world, he observed.

Criticising the government, Mr Abbasi said it had no concern for the public; for two months, it had been hidden behind containers in Islamabad, blocking roads out of fear of the people.

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He urged that it was a time to “foster unity”, but the government was still creating further discord.

Meanwhile, former finance minister and party leader Miftah Ismail also criticised the government’s economic policies, stating that it had done nothing to improve the country’s economy.

Criticising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said: “He claims that inflation has decreased, but in reality, prices have not gone down. Instead, only the pace at which inflation was rising has slowed.”

KBA president Aamir Nawaz Warraich and others also spoke at the event.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2024