- The sources say that the bill be tabled in the joint sitting of the parliament if the presidents refuses to sig it.
Islamabad: President Dr. Arif Alvi started consultation with the Presidency’s legal team as well as the Ministry over approval of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill passed by the parliament to clip the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the source privy to development said on Saturday.
They said that the President sought suggestions from the legal team of Presidency and Law Ministry.
The bill would be tabled in a joint sitting of the parliament if the president refused to approve.
“The Constitutional experts have also been consulted over the subject matter,”, said the sources, adding that the situation was not yet clear.
The development evolved two days after the Senate okayed the bill to clip the suo motu powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The government declared it the right decision at the right time.
The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which seeks to limit the chief justice of Pakistan’s ability to take suo motu notice in a personal capacity.
The bill was presented by Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Azam Nazeer Tarar, and was passed soon after the Standing Committee on Law and Justice gave the green light to the proposed amendments made by the cabinet.
The Defense Minister had expressed his belief that the Supreme Court’s structure should be democratized. He emphasized the importance of strong laws and procedures without any trespassing. He also expressed his opinion that legislation regarding former prime ministers should be a priority and should have been done long before.
Regarding the prevailing political crisis, the Defense Minister stated that the judiciary and establishment are both important components, and he had made attempts to initiate dialogue with all stakeholders, but no progress had been made so far. He expressed doubts that talks among PTI leaders would lead to any fruitful outcomes.
The Defense Minister stressed the need for purposeful negotiations and emphasized that all stakeholders in the political system must come together with a clear agenda to tackle the current conundrum. He also mentioned that the coalition government had held talks with PTI representatives in the past two months, but they did not come prepared with any agenda or seriousness.
At the end, the Defense Minister believes that purposeful negotiations are necessary to resolve the current political crisis, and the Supreme Court’s structure should be democratized with legislation regarding former prime ministers as a priority.
