پاکستان میں حکمرانی کے موجودہ نظام سے فیضیاب سیاسی جماعتیں، عدلیہ کو دھمکیاں دے رہی ہیں

Written by: Mohammad Reza Seyed

Political forces that benefit from the current system of governance in Pakistan are not accepting the legal efforts to repair the blows that have been inflicted on the country’s judicial system by threatening it. PPP’s second-ranking leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that only the parliament has the authority to roll back the 26th Constitutional Amendment. If any other institution abolishes the amendment, no one will accept it. His clear reference was to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, where the 26th Constitutional Amendment has been challenged. It is being inferred from the mood of the higher judiciary that in order to prevent the increasing interference of the government in the judicial system of Pakistan, it has become necessary for the Supreme Court to correct the justice system of Pakistan in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution of Pakistan. Bilawal Bhutto’s immature statement clearly shows that he is threatening the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It should be remembered that on January 20, the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had scheduled the petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment for hearing, which was heard by an 8-member constitutional bench. The bench will hear the case on Monday, January 27. According to the notification, an 8-member bench headed by the head of the constitutional bench, Justice Aminuddin Khan, will hear the case. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal will be part of the bench. The contempt of court proceedings in the bench of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, have recently come to light in the backdrop of a specific case, which was related to non-implementation or violation of the court’s orders. This matter began when a case was scheduled for hearing before a two-member bench of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, on which the bench had issued a clear order that the case be presented for hearing on a specific date, but the Registrar’s Office did not comply with this order, after which Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s court declared the behavior of the Registrar’s Office as a violation of court orders and held it a contempt of court. initiated proceedings and summoned the Registrar for clarification. This case is important in that it will set an important precedent regarding the independence of the judiciary, the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, and compliance with court orders.

For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been selected through a parliamentary committee. Earlier, in the light of the Al-Jihad Trust case decision, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court was the Chief Justice of the country. The government of political parties sponsored by the Pakistani army, with the support of former Chief Justice Faez Isa, made the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which has increased the government’s interference in the justice system of Pakistan. This constitutional amendment has created such a crisis in the history of the Supreme Court, which may require many sacrifices to overcome. The bench reviewing the 26th Constitutional Amendment will first examine whether this amendment has changed the structure of the justice system enshrined in the Constitution or not. This process can create a particularly disturbing situation because the case will be heard by Justice Aminuddin Khan, the head of the newly formed constitutional bench under the 26th Constitutional Amendment, in which Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi and the most senior judge of the Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah will not be present. In this context, voices have started to be raised from some quarters that the matter is related to Pakistan’s justice system, so the case should be heard by a full court. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s immature statement on such a sensitive issue and occasion gives the impression that the Supreme Court of Pakistan is being prevented from reviewing the 26th Constitutional Amendment on the basis of the Constitution of Pakistan and an attempt has been made to use political pressure for this.

Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Sindh High Court against the 26th Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, in which it was requested to declare this amendment null and void. The Supreme Court of Pakistan should be allowed to review any constitutional matter and say whether its political objectives are not affecting the judicial and legal system, and if the amendment approved by the Parliament is sabotaging the basic objectives and structure of the Constitution of Pakistan, then it should declare it null and void. Taking this right from the Supreme Court through political power will create a constitutional crisis. The PPP has no shortage of constitutional and legal experts.Bilawal Bhutto Zardari should have consulted his party’s constitutional experts before opening his mouth on this sensitive issue. Bilawal Bhutto is in a hurry to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan, but haste can prove dangerous for both him and his party. The PPP has suffered serious damage since 1984. The Bhutto family has been expelled from politics. In such a situation, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari should be fired. There is a need to take action.