ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said today [Sept 4] his Government wanted “harmonious co-existence” of all the three organs of the State — Legislature, Executive and Judiciary — with none of them transgressing into the orbit of the other. The present Government believed in the independence of Judiciary, but the Judiciary could not become a parallel Executive, he told the National Assembly winding up the first-reading debate on the Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Bill... . He stressed the independence of Judiciary did not mean the supremacy or sovereignty of Judiciary. In a parliamentary system, sovereignty belonged to the Legislature elected by the people, he pointed out. In an hour-long speech, Prime Minister Bhutto made a forceful exposition of the reasons necessitating the present Bill, rebutting the arguments advanced by the Opposition against the proposed amendments.
Pointing out that the fundamentals of the Constitution had not been touched … he said there was no justification for the furore created by the Opposition. He charged the Opposition [with] trying to create confusion and mislead the people. … He said a Constitution should be a “living and dynamic law”… .
Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026
