Zubair Qureshi
Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Athar Minallah in two separate cases on Wednesday dismissed petitions seeking disqualification of Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and revision of petroleum prices increased recently in the country by Rs25 per litre or so.
In the first petition filed by petitioner, Advocate Tariq Asad, it was maintained that Ghulam Sarwar Khan had issued a number of statements pertaining to the alleged irregularities in certification and licensing of pilots by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Tariq Asad advocate terming those statements factually incorrect had asserted that because of his “alleged, irresponsible and unverified, factually flawed statements irretrievable loss had been suffered by the people of Pakistan, the national airline and the reputation of those Pakistanis who are engaged in profession as ‘pilots’.”
In his decision, however, Chief Justice Minallah made it clear that Article 91 of the Constitution provides that “there shall be a Cabinet of Ministers with Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.”
According to the court’s decision, “our parliamentary scheme envisaged under the Constitution is based on the fundamental principle that each member of the Federal Cabinet is accountable for his or her acts or omissions as the case may be, to the Parliament as well as the Prime Minister.”
He writes in his judgment “The court is fully confident that Prime Minister and other members of the Federal cabinet would be aware of the sensitivity of the matter and its serious implications for the image of Pakistan, the reputation of professional pilots and the national carrier, which in the past was acknowledged as one of the best in the aviation industry worldwide.”
“Since taking action against a member of his cabinet is jurisdiction of the Prime Minister the petition is dismissed” says the judgment.
The other petition seeking revision of petroleum prices, was also declared inadmissible as the judge maintained pricing of petroleum products was the prerogative of the government.
During the hearing, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mian Muhammad Aslam along with his lawyer Rao Abdul Rahim appeared before the court and argued that the prices were increased before the end of June and without Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRAs) summary as the government cannot legally raise prices without OGRA s recommendation.
He submitted through his counsel that the government had made hike in petroleum prices five days before the end of the month all due to malice. Even today, there is nothing on the OGRA website regarding pricing, he argued.
Chief Justice Minallah however in his judgment noted that Supreme Court of Pakistan has in a number of cases cautioned against unnecessary intrusions by the courts in matters relating to utilities, tax, and economic regulation.
He referred to another case in which the august Supreme Court had observed that courts in the exercise of their powers ordinarily avoid to interfere with public policy decisions and rather exercise judicial restraint. “We have no reason to doubt that the Executive would be oblivious of the hardships faced by the general public because it is led by chosen representatives of the people,” further noted Justice Minallah in his judgment while dismissing the petition.
