WITH the passage of the 19th Amendment in the National Assembly, the tensions between parliament and the superior judiciary which have threatened to cause national political instability through much of the year ought now to abate. In October, the Supreme Court offered the first 'olive branch' via the interim order on the 18th Amendment. Rather than strike down parts of the 18th Amendment outright — which some judges on the 17-member bench appeared inclined to do — the court tossed the matter back to parliament and in carefully constructed language made clear what its grievances with the judicial appointment process under Article 175A were. Now, with the passage of the 19th Amendment, parliament has accommodated most of the SC's concerns, so it is hoped that come January, when the SC will take up the matter again, the issue will be brought to a quick and definitive conclusion.

Two main points need to be made about this round of the judiciary-executive/parliament 'clash'. First, now that the superior judiciary has protected its institutional turf — the 19th Amendment hands over primacy in the judicial appointment process to the judiciary — the judicial philosophy of the present court, as demonstrated in its judgments, ought to reflect more concern for national political stability and the proper role of a judiciary in a constitutional democracy. Perhaps given the climate of oppression under which the superior judiciary has operated in recent years, the fierce push back from the SC has been inevitable. However, for constitutional and democratic norms to take root in Pakistan, every institution must act within the confines of what it is designed to do and against the touchstone of internationally accepted norms and principles. Stability and democratic progress need no judicial adventurism or novel approaches. Indeed, Pakistan could do without adventurism and novel approaches from any quarter, be it political, military or judicial.

The second point concerns the role of the politicians. Two constitutional amendments, an NFC award and a Balochistan package are quite remarkable for a parliament that is otherwise dismissed as corrupt, incompetent and beyond caring about the average Pakistani. True, many of the accusations levelled against the present assemblies have much merit to them. However, there clearly remains an appetite in parliament to do the sensible and non-confrontational thing, at least on occasion. Such tendencies must be encouraged, even as parliamentarians are rightly excoriated for their sins. Democracy is a work in progress and, with the passage of the 19th Amendment, there is hope that other political storms brewing will be dealt with in similar mature fashion.