THE three-member Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has not yet given any fresh directive on the issue of elections for the Punjab Assembly and parliament too is exercising restraints vis-à-vis its relationship with the top court but actions and moves of both sides are compounding the situation further with independent analysts fearing hopes fade for an amicable solution of the prevailing constitutional, judicial and political crises. The deadlock is so severe that now more and more people are talking about civil war or extra-constitutional intervention and, therefore, it is a test of the leadership qualities of politicians and head of state institutions to come out with flexible propositions to unfreeze the country.
Institutional wrangling has assumed dangerous dimensions after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial sought the record of the proceedings of NA sessions with regard to the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023, a move seen as yet another transgression into the domain of parliament. The latest directive has sparked serious reaction from the lawmakers, who have demanded of the Speaker not to oblige the top court without the consent of the house. The enraged sentiments of the parliamentarians can be gauged by the demand and remarks of otherwise soft-spoken politician and former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) should be summoned to parliament and asked why the National Assembly session record was sought. He added that it was an issue of supremacy and sanctity of the house and, therefore, should be taken seriously. Similar demands were made by other lawmakers belonging both to treasury and the opposition benches, who called for setting up the Committee of the Whole House to summon the Chief Justice and ask him about the alleged violation of the Constitution.
In a related development, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the Registrar of the Supreme Court on 16 May in connection with an audit of the court and according to its Chairman arrest warrants would follow in case of non-appearance. This issue could also become serious as there is already resentment in the executive branch of the state over non-compliance of the Cabinet decision about transfer of the Registrar. As for elections in Punjab, the PTI has again approached the Supreme Court with the proposition that no consensus has been reached on early elections and that the court should take action for polls in Punjab. However, court intervention has the potential to derail the entire system as the government was not in a mood to implement any directive that is seen as tilted towards a particular political party. There are also serious objections to the formation of specific benches besides questions relating to the legitimacy of the court order in the face of 3-4 controversy.
The court will have to listen to the professional input from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which has, once again, told the apex court that fixing a date for the election is not the mandate of the superior courts under the Constitution. The electoral watchdog filed a review petition under Article-188 of the Constitution also endorsed general apprehensions that if election to the National Assembly is held while permanent governments are in place in Punjab and KP (73 per cent of the total National Assembly seats), the sanctity, objectivity and fairness of the elections to 73 percent of the general seats of the National Assembly would inevitably be compromised. Things have also become clearer in the light of the outcome of the All Parties Conference (APC) organized by the Awami National Party (ANP), which called for ensuring parliament’s supremacy at all costs and demanded countrywide elections on the same day after completion of the term of the National Assembly.
The demand highlights the ground reality that all political forces of the country except PTI have similar views on elections – they should be held simultaneously on completion of the term of present assemblies in August. In this backdrop, all stakeholders should listen to the impassioned appeal made by Federal Minister and PPP stalwart Syed Naveed Qamar, who called upon them not to subvert the process of dialogue and find a solution in the light of the Constitution without giving any opportunity to any other institution. He has cautioned that the stubborn attitude would result in a disaster and both the government and opposition would suffer. “Neither we nor you will exist”, he added.
