PML-N decides to take judges head on

• PM Abbasi hints at bringing changes in law to tame judiciary

• PML-N parliamentary party meeting gives a go-ahead for the move

• PPP, PTI refuse to allow PML-N to use parliament to target senior judges

ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be an attempt to take judiciary head on, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday hinted at, without being specific about what he meant, introducing some sort of legislation to muzzle judiciary. This came after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary party, in a meeting earlier in the day, decided to change the party strategy to target the top judges through parliament, rather than publicly assaulting the top judiciary.

“I ask the members from both sides of the political divide if you have a right to legislate or need any prior approval for it … I call upon the house to debate as to whether it has the right to legislate and the government had powers to make decisions and appointments,” said the prime minister without elaborating further.

An informed source, however, told Pakistan Today that the ruling party was mulling a proposal to cut the age limit of senior judges which could help remove certain senior-most judges of the apex court, though no PML-N leader was ready to confirm the claim.

PM Abbasi said with their jurisdictions predefined by the constitution all the state pillars must perform within their parameters as any conflict among national institutions always hurt the country.

The prime minister quoted the media reports that the courts summoned the parliamentarians, labelled them as ‘mafia, thieves or dacoits’, and sometimes threatened to nullify the legislation made by them. “These are the media reports and I wish some were wrong,” he remarked.

He said the constitution had defined the limits of all institutions and they would have to act within that purview else the country would suffer. It has repeatedly been witnessed that in case of any conflict, it was the country that suffered, he added.

“To avoid any conflict, the house should hold a debate. This is not a partisan debate. This is not a party’s debate. This is the house’s debate,” he said and added, “As far as the executive is concerned, the government officers are summoned to court, insulted, policies are negated (and) people are ousted. How long this will continue. Who will bear its brunt? The country will suffer the loss.”

“Today, for a government functionary, the easiest way is to make no decision or do work. No one will question him. As if you will carry out any work, it will bring insult to you tomorrow,” the prime minister remarked.

He said there must be a questioning but it must not hurt the country and also criticised the courts’ controversial decisions made in the past.

“These things need to be ascertained. This is not criticism against any institution. I am presenting facts before you” he said, adding,  whether it was a person’s liability if any of the house’s decisions proved wrong and had any negative impact?

He requested the leader of the opposition, Khursheed Shah, not to make the issue biased as it was the parliament’s issue.

PM Abbasi said it was a moment of concern for the house as the parties with no member in a provincial assembly [Balochistan Assembly] had fielded their candidates for Senate election and even some independents were also in the race.

“How will they be elected? These issues will not be resolved until the House debates. We have seen all such gimmicks in the past. We need to end this today,” he concluded.

PML-N PARLIAMENTARY PARTY MEETING:

Earlier in the day, the PML-N’s parliamentary party’s meeting decided to change the party strategy and rather than publically assaulting the top judiciary, it decided to target the top judges through parliament.

Pakistan Today has learnt on authority that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who chaired the parliamentary party meeting, informed the participants that the party was changing its strategy as a result of the successful initiatives taken by the court against the PML-N leaders.

“The parliamentary party discussed at length the developing situation. It was hence decided that the party could not sit silently watching the ‘witch-hunt by senior judiciary’. So, we have decided that from now onwards, criticism against judiciary would not be made publicly,” a senior PML-N leader said.

He further said that the PML-N would be criticising judiciary from the floor of the parliament which was protected under the constitution.

“The judiciary cannot question the statements made on the floor of the parliament due to the protection provided by the Constitution. The ruling party would benefit from this law and the prime minister himself would mount the attack on the floor of the parliament,” the senior leader said.

Asked why judiciary would be attacked by the ruling party, he said that the PML-N would respond in the same coin if senior judges would use objectionable language against the Sharif family.

“If the prime minister is called a ‘thief, dacoit and mafia’, then why the misconduct of such judges shouldn’t be brought under the scanner,” the party leader said.

Another PML-N lawmaker told Pakistan Today that the parliamentary party of the PML-N expressed full trust in the leadership of party chief Nawaz Sharif and decided that the parliamentary party would propagate the narrative of Nawaz Sharif. While addressing the parliamentary party meeting, the prime minister said that judges were not only ridiculing the former prime minister, the judiciary was actually ridiculing the parliament.

“It is necessary to protect the sanctity of the parliament. It is not a good tradition to ridicule the government decisions. It is unacceptable to call elected leadership as dacoits and thieves. This is hampering the national growth,” the PML-N leader said quoting the prime minister.

“We will bring forth truth and facts on Panama case. Nawaz Sharif and family are being targeted on purpose. We need to bring the conduct of judges in the spotlight at the floor of the parliament,” the PML-N leader said.

The leader said that it was mandatory that every state institution should work within its constitutional ambits as no institution can be allowed to misuse its authority.

OPPOSITION DISAGREES:

Major opposition parties – Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) –opposed the PML-N’s move to use parliament for mounting an attack on senior judges of the apex court.

Responding to the PM’s speech, Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah said that the opposition was ready for ‘good legislation’ aimed at the supremacy of the parliament.

In a clear reference to prime minister’s request to support the legislation to curtail age limit of the senior judges, Shah said the opposition believed that person-specific legislation to serve own interest is damaging for the country.

Shah, however, agreed with the prime minister said that every institution should work within its limits and no one should try to encroach upon others.

He also accused the PML-N government for bulldozing various bills. “We (PPP) used to consult the opposition on every piece of legislation during our tenure,” he complained.

“Every institution should work within its domain as it would help for good future of Pakistan. We have damaged the sanctity of parliament,” he said quoting the example of Panama case, which could not be resolved in the parliamentary committees.

Shah was of the view that Panama case should have been resolved in the parliament. Shah further said many of the decisions agreed upon in Council of Common Interests (CCI) were not implemented by the federal government.

PTI’s Shafqat Mehmood, on his turn, said there should be respect for every institution. “Debate on supremacy of parliament reflects that the purpose is to save some specific person,” he argued referring to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

About horse-trading in Senate elections, the PTI leader said there should be proper deliberations in the house over the issue. He said the PML-N leaders were ‘shedding crocodile tears’ for a specific purpose which is to save a single person – the ex-prime minister.

He said the PML-N leaders were raising a hue and cry only to save their leaders. “There is no purpose of this hue and cry except for that the ruling family have problems with the Supreme Court,” he said.

The house also saw rumpus when the deputy speaker switched off the microphone of Shafqat Mehmood and gave the floor to PML-N’s Mian Abdul Mannan.

Mannan, taking part in the debate, criticised the language used by the courts about the elected parliamentarians. PTI member Laal Chand, in the middle of Mannan’s speech, pointed out a lack of quorum in the house which lead to abrupt adjournment of the house proceedings.