ISLAMABAD: Although the Supreme Court’s majority order on July 12 directing the Election Commission to allocate certain seats to Tehreek-e-Insaf did not affect the functioning of the PML-N-led federal government.
However, it is creating hurdles in the way of the judicial package, which cannot be passed without a two-thirds majority. The government’s reaction to the July 12 majority order shows its plan to set up a higher judiciary has been hit hard.
It is learned that in the proposed draft of the judicial package, the retirement age of every judge of the Supreme Court has been proposed to be extended by 3 years. The current chief justice will benefit the most as he is due to retire on October 25. Soon after the July 12 order, government officials started saying that the PTI was hoping to appoint a new chief justice who could possibly be sent home by the current government after Justice Isa’s retirement.
Political analysts say that the government ranks are afraid that the election tribunals may decide the election petitions in Punjab soon. The decision has been suspended.
The matter is still pending in the Supreme Court. The government has amended the Election Act 2017 to negate the effects of the July 12 majority order. It is worth noting that the Election Commission did not follow the new law and did not implement the July 12 order. The government is continuing with plans to approve the judicial package, however, there is a shortage in both the National Assembly and the Senate for the approval of constitutional amendment bills.
In the meeting of both the lower house and the upper house, JUIF Member National Assembly Noor Alam has submitted two bills for constitutional amendments related to judiciary. Similarly, PML-N MNA Daniyal Chaudhary wants to increase the number of judges of the Supreme Court from 17 to 23. According to sources, where the government is trying to put pressure on the judiciary, it wants the next Chief Justice Mansoor Ali. She is also using back roads to gain the Shah’s sympathy.
In the historic majority judgment of the Rawalpindi Bar Association case, the constitutional amendment can be struck down if the independence of the judiciary is violated. The government is currently facing no resistance from the current Chief Justice. Observers have also stated that the government is trying to take advantage of the division in the Supreme Court.
Senior lawyers say that the government has been putting pressure on the majority judges since July 12 to avoid insulting words in the detailed judgment. They believe that the pressure on the judges will continue until the appointment of the new Chief Justice and the final decision. Jafari Advocate said the government tried to confuse the judicial structure but failed to gather the required numbers. The reason for this can be easily identified due to lack of public support or legitimate mandate.
