21 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Pakistani government has opened a new episode of its conflict with the Supreme Court by promulgating a law that restricts the powers of the highest judicial instance in the country, from now on unable to act ex officio in individual cases while those affected by this types of interventions may appeal with retroactive effect.
Among those affected is the former prime minister of the country Nawaz Sharif, disqualified for life by the Supreme Court due to his involvement in the international corruption scandal included in the ‘Panama Papers’, and who now sees the door open to appeal the decision.
The law is designed to prevent the Supreme Court from acting on its own in such sensitive cases as the holding of crucial local elections in the state of Punjab, where the high court has openly clashed with the National Electoral Commission over the date of celebration of the same in what the Pakistani Government considered as an act of interference.
In fact, the regulations have ended up being promulgated by the country’s National Assembly despite the fact that the Supreme Court itself had ordered its parliamentary process to be paralyzed due to the “irreparable damage” that it could cause to the balance of powers in the country.
Although the country’s president, Arif Alvi, did not give his approval to the development of the law either, understanding that its preparation “was beyond parliamentary powers”, the second clause of article 75 of the Constitution allows the entry into force of a regulation approved by a joint session of Parliament even without presidential approval.
The country’s main political opposition force, former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI), has criticized the proceeding since its inception, saying it is a clearly partisan process in the service of his nemesis, Sharif. .
Legal experts consulted by Al Jazeera highlight the complexity of the issue. Lawyer and constitutional expert Abuzar Salman Niazi explains that the Pakistani Supreme Court has sometimes acted outside its powers but clarifies that the parliamentary process is not entirely in line with the law: this law is, basically, a constitutional amendment that needs a a two-thirds majority in the Pakistani Parliament and which the government lacks.
Likewise, Niazi stresses that this maneuver seems like an attempt to put pressure on the president of the Pakistani Supreme Court, Judge Umar Ata Bandial, whom the Government points out as the instigator of the conflict against the Electoral Commission over the elections in Punjab to favor the former prime minister. Jan.
