Like the previous year, a cold row between the superior judiciary and the executive continued throughout 2011, however the judiciary continued showing judicial activism as well as judicial restraint, despite the fact that the executive did not implement in letter and spirit most of the verdicts in high profile constitutional cases.
Although the superior judiciary emerged as an independent organ of the state after the incumbent government came into power in the February 18, 2008 general elections, its decisions kept the executive confused and irked during the whole period after its restoration on March 24, 2009.
However, the judiciary remained unsuccessful in living up to the expectations of the people as it could not take to their logical end most cases involving violation of human rights or constitution and law, which it initiated through suo motu notices or after receiving petitions.
Because of the uncooperative attitude of the ‘executive’, despite witnessing dozens of hearings, the high profile cases pertaining to billions of rupees worth of corruption in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam, illegal award of Reko Diq gold mines’ contract, mismanagement and corruption in Haj affairs, billions of rupees in tax evasion by ISAF containers, multi-billion rupee corruption in the contracts of Rental Power Projects, Rs Rs 9 billion scam in the Bank of Punjab, huge corruption in Pakistan Railways, illegal appointments in EOBI and Port Qasim Authority, recovery of Rs 256 billion loans waived of between 1979 to 2009, unauthorised diversion of floodwater by influential people, missing persons, existence of 37 million bogus votes in the electoral rolls and many more cases could not see their logical end.
During the year, the court disposed of thousands of cases of routine nature including many high profile cases pertaining to the 18th Amendment, government’s review petition against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict, appointment of Justice (r) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman, privatisation of Habib Bank Ltd, PCO judges, promotion of 54 bureaucrats, targeted killings in Karachi and the Mukhtaran Mai case. Other high profile cases such as a presidential reference filed by President Asif Ali Zardari under Article 186 of the constitution seeking to revisit the death sentence awarded to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and petitions filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif and others seeking a probe into the memo controversy instituted during the year are also under adjudication. The court also brought eunuchs to the mainstream by ensuring their right of vote and right to inheritance.
Despite repeated orders of the Supreme Court, the government has so far failed to implement its December 16, 2009 verdict in letter and spirit, which declared the NRO illegal and unconstitutional. Despite continuous court orders, all the cases, particularly money laundering cases against President Zardari before the Swiss courts, have not been brought back to their pre-NRO position.
Similarly, the court’s orders that the plundered national wealth be brought back from Swiss accounts have not been implemented yet. Despite the government’s defiance in implementing the court’s verdicts in many cases, the court showed judicial restraint but continued to stress true implementation of its orders. With the court showing continued judicial activism, delays in implementing its verdicts is not a good omen for the country.
