–Justice Isa says shut down parliament if laws are to be introduced through ordinances
–All laws relating to forests ‘designed to protect corruption’ instead of saving trees
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa on Tuesday criticised the government over the introduction of laws through special ordinances, saying such an action was tantamount to “usurping” the parliament’s job.
During the hearing of a case regarding the cutting of forests in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Justice Isa, who is facing a presidential reference over non-disclosure of foreign properties, remarked: “Shut down the parliament if laws are to be introduced through ordinances.”
Justice Isa is part of a three-member bench which is headed by Justice Mushir Alam.
He said the rulers of the country are engrossed in “other issues” when the “real issue” is the protection of the environment. The judge also asked why an important law concerning forests was instituted through an ordinance.
As the hearing went underway, the court rejected applications filed by petitioners who claim to be owners of pieces of forest land. The apex bench observed that the petitioners had not asked to be given their share at any level during the hearing of the case.
Justice Isa told the petitioners that they did not have a right of claim to the land and that the government should have filed a review petition in the case. He also asked the government representative why the order in the case, issued in 2013, was not implemented.
“The protection of forests is important for the future of upcoming generations,” the judge remarked, adding that all laws relating to forests in the country were instead “designed to protect corruption”.
The SC judge said the number of forests in KP and Gilgit-Baltistan was dwindling, with the areas losing greenery at a rapid pace.
“No one is ready to touch a law introduced by a dictator,” he said, adding that “dictators comes and takes two minutes to do away with parliament”. He also said the country’s prevailing atmosphere was such that “one cannot freely talk about anything.”
On Saturday, the SC judge said it was judiciary’s responsibility to put an end to contraventions of the constitution, as it has the authority to stop “an individual or institution in the event they transgress the fundamental rights accorded to them”.
It may be noted here that the SC judge is facing currently a misconduct reference in the Supreme Court that was filed by the president over “concealment of assets”. The reference accuses Justice Isa of concealing his properties in the United Kingdom allegedly held in the name of his wife and children.
However, the SJC proceedings were suspended after several constitutional petitions challenging the reference were
