- 1973 Constitution an uneasy marriage between socialism and Islam, govt tells SC
- Court told Constitution’s Article 2 mentions Islam while Article 3, referring to elimination of exploitation, has been copied from Article 12 of Soviet Union’s 1936 Constitution
The federal government told the Supreme Court on Monday that the 1973 Constitution was an “uneasy marriage between socialism and Islam” which could never be successful.
During the hearing of constitutional amendment’s case, the 17-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Nasirul Mulk was told by federal government counsel Khalid Anwar that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was the founder of the 1973 Constitution and the party won a majority on the basis of socialism, not religion, especially with the “roti, kapra, makan” slogan.
The court was told that Article 2 of the Constitution mentions Islam while Article 3 stated the elimination of exploitation, which was copied from Article 12 of the Soviet Union’s 1936 Constitution.
Monday’s hearing was an interesting exchange on political philosophy and Pakistan’s history. When Anwar referred to the sociological philosophies of Karl Marx, Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh pointed out that he should also mention Quaid-e-Azam’s speeches.
Moreover, while talking about a letter written by Allama Iqbal, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan said that “egalitarianism is also a part of Islam”.
On military courts, Anwar questioned that if military courts could be established in the US, despite the US courts having immense power, why could they not be established in Pakistan, whereby the apex court takes power from the Constitution.
