Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has reiterated his party’s long-standing demand for judicial reforms, emphasising the need for a constitutional court to ensure a fair judicial system.
Speaking to representatives of lawyers across the country on Thursday, Bilawal praised the legal community for their resistance against dictatorships, particularly in defeating General Musharraf’s regime.
“Lawyers have always stood firm against dictators, and their struggle led to the downfall of Musharraf’s dictatorship,” he said.
Bilawal highlighted the views of his late mother, Benazir Bhutto, who believed that judges should avoid political activism. “She used to say that if judges want to lead rallies, they should form a political party. She knew that political involvement by the judiciary would harm the public,” he remarked. He also recalled the PPP’s commitment to the Charter of Democracy.
Discussing the need for a constitutional court, Bilawal stated, “The mandate of a constitutional court would be to interpret constitutional matters. Through the 18th Amendment, a system for appointing judges was established. It took me 50 years to seek justice for Shaheed Bhutto’s case.”
He criticised former chief justices Iftikhar Chaudhry, Saqib Nisar, and Gulzar Ahmed for perpetuating a system where nepotism influenced judicial appointments.
Bilawal also underscored the importance of transparency in the judicial appointment process, a demand originally put forth by Benazir Bhutto. “They said the appointment of judges would be at the discretion of the chief justice, but judges are not supposed to build dams or remodel Karachi. There are so many pending cases in the courts; the system for appointing judges needs to be fixed,” he added.
