Legal experts on Monday warned the government against violation of the Supreme Court orders, saying arrogance and defiance of court orders might compel it to summon Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on contempt charges which might lead to a chaotic situation dragging both institutions of the state to a head-on collision.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed said it was parliament’s responsibility to supervise the executive. “Parliamentarians are either running behind perks and privileges or lobbying to get portfolios in the cabinet. The Supreme Court has constitutional instrument in the form of Article 90 to seek help of state institutions for the implementation of its verdicts,” he said.
Justice (r) Ahmed said the Supreme Court was treating the executive leniently. “If the apex court punishes few government officials on contempt of court, others would learn a lesson and the Supreme Court won’t need to seek the army’s help,” he said, adding the Supreme Court could summon Gilani on contempt of court charges as the court had summoned Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1975. Justice (r) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim said the confrontation between the judiciary and the executive was bad for the country. “How can the government fight with the judiciary? The government must accept the verdicts of the court whether it likes or agrees with them or not,” he said, adding that the SC could either summon or issue contempt notice to the prime minister in the NICL scam case. Ebrahim said everyone in the country was worried about the executive-judiciary tussle. “Have all other problems been solved? There are lot of problems which should be resolved on a priority basis, particularly law and order issue,” he added.
Senator SM Zafar said the confrontation between the judiciary and the executive could invite anarchy in the country. “The prime minister is not only the executive head of the country but he also represents parliament. If the three organs of the state – the executive, the judiciary and the legislature – are not on the same page, it will cause bad governance which could lead to anarchy,” he said.
Zafar also said the SC could summon the prime minister in the NICL case which he said would “not be good for the country and the institutions”. Calling the situation “very dangerous”, Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood said the executive was bound to obey the SC’s orders under constitution. “It is a constitutional crisis when the executive is refusing to act upon the Supreme Court orders. There is no way out for the government but to implement verdicts of the apex court,” he said. Advocate Akram Sheikh said the government had gone beyond simple defiance and intended a head-on collision with the courts. He said the Supreme Court could summon Gilani for defying its orders for the reinstatement of Zafar Qureshi.