WITH parliament and the judiciary now going toe-to-toe, there seems to be a growing realisation in power corridors that, if the belligerence between the top organs of the state over holding elections in Punjab and KP is not arrested soon, anything could happen.

Events are moving at breakneck speed and, if not defused in time, may snowball into a severe reaction from the various actors entangled in the present stalemate, according to a highly placed source who is privy to developments taking place behind the scenes.

Consider all that is happening; the wheels of a parliamentary attempt to clip the CJP’s powers of suo motu have been clamped by the interim order of an eight-judge bench. Simultaneously, the government is standing its ground on the issue of elections and has — in so many words ­— turned down a bill that offered some hope of securing funding of SC-mandated polls in Punjab in mid-May.

Battle lines have been drawn and the pace at which developments are taking place is not allowing for things to settle down, the source said, adding that once the ability of the federal government to act as a buffer wears out, the judiciary would be blamed for any adverse outcome.

This is a reference to the power struggle between the chief justice and his clique of judges ­— more or less the same faces who are featured on any panel considering cases of high import ­— and those that are routinely left out of such benches, which includes the second senior-most judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

“We are fast heading towards a constitutional derailment because of the present tug of war between institutions of the state,” said Advocate Akhtar Hussain, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) representative in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), which recommended the elevation of Justice Mussarat Hilali as chief justice of the Peshawar High Court, on Thursday.

Mr Hussain was of the opinion that the current crisis could provoke a misadventure, and in that case, all political forces will be the eventual losers.

The doors of dialogue should never be closed, because that is the only way to settle political disputes, he said.

Eminent lawyer Faisal Siddiqui described the present conflict between two groups of judges as a sad day for Pakistan’s judiciary. In his view, there seems to be complete anarchy in the top court and the entire situation has gone beyond the confines of legal debate.

Social media was awash with rumours regarding a possible conflict betweensome judges in chambers, but independent sources Dawn spoke to did not confirm any such incident.

But whatever the truth, tongues are wagging and Thursday’s interim order, followed by today’s in-chamber hearing of the suo motu on Punjab elections, only serve to further strengthen the notion that the days of a unified Supreme Court are gone and a game of thrones has been ushered in, where one of two groups will eventually prevail. Whatever the outcome, observers feel, the judiciary’s image will be left tarnished.

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The highly placed source told Dawn that at today’s hearing regarding the release of Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the government may plead that it had not committed any wilful disobedience, but rather awaits parliamentary approval for the release of funds not sanctioned in the budget.

The release of funds is not a very serious issue, he said, but other factors in the conduct of the elections are.

Indeed, a parliamentary debate on the draft Charge Sums for General Election (Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and KP) Act 2023 may have provided both sides the time needed to cool heightened tempers.

Until yesterday, there were those who felt that the legislative process of debate may afford PTI chief Imran Khan an opportunity to finally sit at the same table as his arch-rivals in government.

They felt that if the PTI could be convinced to parley with the ruling coalition over national issues like the country’s murky financial position and the spike in terror incidents, the prevalent tension and acrimony may lose steam and lead to a more reassuring outcome.

But after parliament’s full-throated denunciation on Thursday of the election funding errand imposed on them by the apex court, it seems that door has also been closed.

During a recent joint sitting of parliament, representatives from smaller provinces said that early elections in the province of Punjab would put them at a disadvantage, since any party claiming the majority there would have a pivotal role in influencing the overall national election scene, when the time comes for polls in the rest of the country.

Then, there is the question of security. At a time when Balochistan and KP are facing the resurgent menace of terrorism and people are dying on a near daily basis, re-assigning the security apparatus to perform election duties in the Punjab or KP, albeit temporarily, may put these areas in greater danger.

Mr Hussain suggested that it was time that the present government should come out with a clear assurance that elections will be held within 90 days after the tenure of the present National Assembly expires.

The informed source, however, brushed aside rumours regarding the possibility of proclaiming a state of emergency ­— financial or otherwise ­— under Article 232 of the Constitution on the pretext of internal disturbances, in a bid to extend the tenure of the present National Assembly, which is set to expire on Aug 11 this year.

Even if such an extreme choice is opted for, he said, it would only lead the ruling coalition further down a rabbit hole that they may not be able to climb back out of.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2023