Parliament is supreme, says govt

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday said parliament was the supreme institution in the country as it represented the will of the people. “There is no doubt that the Supreme Court is the apex court in the country, but when we talk about supreme institution, parliament is the supreme institution per the constitution,” he said while talking to reporters after attending a certificate distribution ceremony among students of institutions working under Wafaq-ul-Madaris. “It is parliament which has the power to make, amend or abrogate the constitution. Similarly, the parliament has the right to abolish any institution. In fact, the parliament is the mother of all institutions,” he added. The minister said the government had been saying from day one that all of the country’s institutions should work in their constitutional domain. Kaira said politicians had always been subjected to media trials even before court verdicts were announced against allegations levelled against them and their public image was tarnished by one-sided talk shows and columns. He said the institutions were not built in days and targeting institutions was not in national interest. Kaira said the Pakistan People’s Party had had bitter experiences, but it never targeted any institution of the country. To a question, Kaira said the government would take all possible steps to promote education in the country.