DAWN.COM

Today's Paper | May 01, 2024

Published 09 Nov, 2012 10:28pm

PML-N says: Govt mixing up judicial powers with executive

LAHORE, Nov 9: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz alleges the People’s Party-led government is muddling up judicial and administrative powers to hoodwink the masses.

The PML-N desires that the letter the government sent to Swiss authorities on the Supreme Court orders should be made public.

“The government, under a plan, is mixing up judicial powers with that of the administration to deceive simple people and federal information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has perhaps been given the task to initiate a new debate about courts daily,” PML-N deputy secretary-general Ahsan Iqbal said here on Friday.

Mr Kaira had said in Gujrat the other day that President of Pakistan and not the Supreme Court was the final authority to take decisions.

Asserting the minister’s remarks were tantamount to contempt of court, Mr Iqbal said in a statement that deciding administrative affairs was definitely the job of prime minister, his cabinet and the president but they were bound to take these decisions within the bounds of law and the Constitution. If their decisions were in violation of the law of land and Constitution, the courts could declare them null and void, the PML-N leader said, arguing that the judiciary and not the president thus became the final decision-making authority.

“Declaring the decisions of a president, who is also chief of a political party and uses the Presidency for political purpose, final is ridiculous.”Mr Iqbal said as the use of the Presidency for political purposes was in violation of apex court orders in Asghar Khan case, the court had the authority to act against the president for this violation.“Muddling up powers of the Supreme Court with that of the president, or declaring the president over and above the court was reflective of dictatorial thinking of the PPP which may damage the party itself and the country.”

Meanwhile, PML-N media coordinator Tariq Azeem has demanded the government should make public the Swiss letter and explain what changes had been made to it and why.

Talking to the media here on Friday, he referred to federal law minister Farooq H Naek’s statement that some changes had been incorporated into the letter and said the statement had caused anxiety among the masses, who wanted to know text of the communiqué and the changes made to it. Not even a comma (in the letter) could be changed without the apex court’s permission, he stressed.

Read Comments

Audio leaks case: IHC's Justice Babar Sattar dismisses pleas seeking his recusal Next Story