ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court distanced itself on Monday from the current political impasse between the government and parties holding sit-ins in the federal capital, but made it clear that it would preserve the Constitution at all cost and never permit any deviation from the green book.

“We have taken oath under the Constitution to protect and preserve it,” observed Justice Saqib Nisar, a member of the five-judge bench hearing a petition of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Kamran Khan who sought a court order restraining state functionaries from taking any extra-constitutional steps.

At the last hearing on Aug 15, the court had restrained the state authorities from acting in any manner unwarranted by the Constitution and the law.

“We are the guardians of the Constitution and can never permit any deviation from the Constitution,” Justice Nisar said, adding that the court was under an obligation to protect the legal document.

But the bench headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk preferred not to get itself entangled into the current impasse when Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt drew its attention to the violation of fundamental rights of the citizens.

They had threatened to storm the ‘red zone’, the AG said, adding that the area inside the red zone housed a number of diplomatic missions and the government had an international obligation to protect them.

“This is something for the government to handle,” the chief justice said.

When the AG referred to the third schedule of the Constitution that deals with the oath of office of the president, prime minister and ministers and members of parliament, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja observed that the court needed to be cautious of the dividing lines and said it was up to the parliament to take care if oath of the members was violated.

“We should not interfere in everything,” he said, adding that the court did not carry sticks but only moral authority to be exercised strictly under the Constitution.

Justice Nisar asked petitioner Kamran Murtaza to read out articles 5 and 6 from the Constitution – Article 5 demands complete obedience to the state as well as the Constitution from every citizen whereas Article 6 deals with high treason for conspiring against the Constitution.

After Mr Murtaza read out the articles, Justice Nisar asked whether it was possible to deviate from the Constitution.

“Although it is not possible, still there is a possibility (of unconstitutional steps),” the SCBA president said.

Another highlight of the day was the filing of a petition in the Supreme Court by Lahore High Court Bar Association President Shafqat Mahmood Chohan seeking a declaration that the fundamental rights of citizens had been violated by the leaders of parties holding Inqilab (revolution) and Azadi marches and sit-ins and announcing a civil disobedience movement.

The petitioner requested the court to order the administrative and constitutional heads of the state to work in accordance with the Constitution and restrain them from taking any extra-constitutional step under the garb of the current political situation to deprive the citizens of their fundamental rights protected under the Constitution.

The court said it would hear the petition along with the main petition on Wednesday. The court was informed that high court bar associations from other provinces were filing similar petitions.

The court ordered the federal government to submit by Wednesday a concise statement on the petition of the SCBA president.

After the hearing, Kamran Murtaza and Shafqat Chohan told reporters that the high court bar associations would hold a lawyers’ convention titled “Agenda for the protection of the Constitution and the rights of the citizens” on Aug 21 in Lahore. Leaders of all bar associations, political parties and business community and members of civil society would be invited to the convention which would adopt a resolution after discussion on the current political impasse, they said.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2014