LAHORE: Incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi says the clash of institutions is leading Pakistan towards a constitutional breakdown.

In a handwritten letter sent to select journalists on Thursday, Mr Qureshi said that the chief election commissioner as well as members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ought to resign after the observations of the full court in its detailed judgement.

“It is an indictment on the role of ECP.”

He stated the legal fraternity was not fully convinced of the need for a federal constitutional court.

Urges election commissioner, ECP members to resign; claims that ECP is divided

“They doubt the intentions of the government and feel it is a deliberate attempt to control the judiciary and not an issue of overcoming pendency of cases,” he claimed.

Mr Qureshi said the ECP seemed to be divided after seven sittings as two members of the commission had disagreed with their legal team and felt the Supreme Court ruling needed to be implemented.

“The government is actively encouraging non-compliance and thereby undermining the Supreme Court’s authority.”

The former foreign minister said the recently promulgated Practice and Procedure Ordinance 2024 had restored the concept of ‘the master of the roster’. He said the legality of the ordinance had been challenged hence the Supreme Court’s full court should review the ordinance and give its opinion.

“Undermining the Supreme Court will destroy the entire system and push the country towards the state of anarchy,” he warned.

Mr Qureshi declared that the so-called judicial reforms were, in fact, an attempt to clip the powers of the top judiciary. He said the letter of the Speaker of the National Assembly was also an attempt to block the implementation of the 12th July judgement.

“The Supreme Court verdict is binding on all the institutions and not implementing it will be tantamount to violation of the constitution.”

Asserting that nobody questioned the right of the Parliament to legislate but could it amend the structure of the 1973 unanimous constitution, he asked.

The PTI leader said the unanimous 1973 constitution strengthened the federation and any attempt to amend it without consensus would be dangerous for the federation.

He said a political party could neither be deprived of the right to contest elections nor denied the right to be reorganised as a parliamentary party.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2024