ISLAMABAD: A group of four distinguished individuals approached the Supreme Court on Friday with a petition that it order President Dr Arif Alvi, as well as the federal government, to convene a joint sitting of parliament for deliberations on Article 29 of the Constitution.

Article 29 deals with the “principles of policy” and makes it the responsibility of every organ and authority of the state to act in accordance with those principles in so far as they relate to functions of the organ or the authority.

“The petitioners, being conscious and law-abiding citizens of Pakistan, want to bring to the notice for necessary directions of the Supreme Court for the constant violation of the provisions of Article 29 of the Constitution,” the petition contended.

The four petitioners are: Karamat Ali, a founding member and current executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER); Nazim Fida Hussain Haji, a founding member of the Citizens Police Liaison Committee; Mahnaz Rahman, Resident Director of the Aurat Publication and Information Services Foundation; and Liaquat Ali Sahi, Secretary General of the Democratic Workers Federation of the State Bank.

They moved the petition through Rasheed A. Razvi, a former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

The petition pleaded with the Supreme Court to make it binding upon the president to present a report on implementation of Article 29 before a joint session of parliament. Likewise, the four governors be directed to place their reports before the provincial assemblies, the petitioners said.

The provision also states that in respect of each year, the president in relation to the affairs of the federation, and the governor of each province in relation to the affairs of his province will lay before each house of the parliament and the provincial assembly, a report on the observance and implementation of the principles of policy, and provision shall be made in the rules of procedure of the National Assembly, the Senate and the provincial assembly for discussion.

They recalled that President Arif Alvi’s address to the parliament’s joint session on Nov 13 last year was silent on compliance with Article 29 of the Constitution.

This was a grave violation of Article 29, they contended.

“The petitioners, being citizens and taxpayers, are entitled to know that how the federal government and the provincial governments are acting — whether in accordance with the principles of policies or not.

“Unless there is a report in writing from the office of the president or the federal government, the governors, the provincial governments, it cannot be assessed/adjudged whether these governments are acting in accordance with the principles of policies or not,” the petition argued.

“It is the Constitution’s mandate that such reports will be placed each year before the parliament by the president and, likewise before the provincial assemblies by the respective governors, on the observance and implementation of the principles of policies for discussion on the report,” the petition further argued.

“By not placing the required reports before the parliament or before provincial assemblies, the nation has been deprived of the right to know annual progress of the country. This amounts to an act of fraud played by the federal and the provincial governments on the public at large.”

The president is under oath as per the Third Schedule to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and to serve all citizens in accordance with the law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, the petition said.

“On several occasions it has been held by the Supreme Court that the implementation of fundamental rights are to be read in conjunction with the principles of policy in order to establish an egalitarian society,” the petition recalled, citing a judgement in the 1988 Benazir Bhutto case.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2021