- Precedents set by PML-N are haunting it now
With the majority that it enjoyed in the National Assembly the Sharif government had the opportunity to strengthen Parliament. What Nawaz Sharif did was to take all crucial decisions himself and reduce the status of the National Assembly to a glorified rubber stamp. The prime minister attended the sittings infrequently. During the question hours the relevant ministers were often absent. There were frequent complaints of lack of quorum leading to postponement of sittings. Sharif rarely called a cabinet meeting till reprimanded by the Supreme Court after about three years.
The PML-N was reminded of the importance of Parliament for the first time when Nawaz Sharif faced ouster in December 2014. Once rescued by Parliament, he again reverted to his old style of governance with all power concentrated in his own person and Parliament given no importance. Even now amidst the PML-N hype about Parliament’s powers, Khaqan Abbasi agreed to send an army unit to Saudi Arabia without informing, let alone consulting, the Parliament. The defence minister has refused to reveal the details about the unit’s deployment before even an in camera session of the Senate.
Once again the PML-N leadership has woken to the need of Parliament when the SC is about to give verdict on the constitutional status of the recently passed law allowing the disqualified PM to lead his party. Some five years back when the SC was mulling to send Yousuf Raza Gilani home, Nawaz pressured Gilani to resign immediately as the SC had the authority to dismiss as many prime ministers as it thought fit. The opposition is spot on to maintain that it would cooperate with the government only if the legislation is in the interest of the country and not person-specific.
The SC needs to ensure that justice is not only done but is widely seen to have been done. Reining in its penchant for suo motu cases, the court would do better to concentrate on improving the judicial system, ensuring early disposal of cases, reducing the expenses on litigation and ending the rampant corruption at the level of the lower judiciary.
