Bilawal fears face-off if constitutional package not passed before Oct 25

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has warned of “face-off like situation” if the constitutional package, aimed at giving the authorities some ingress in country’s judicial system, did not pass before October 25 — the retirement date of the incumbent chief justice.

Last month, the coalition government made a futile attempt to pass a ‘closely-guarded’ constitutional package amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

However, the government failed to even table the amendments in parliament after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman refused to support the government's judicial package, leaving the contentious amendments hanging in the balance.

Ostensibly, the government was short of 13 votes in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate as the said legislation requires a two-thirds majority in both houses.

Speaking to journalists, Bilawal — who is leading from the front in pushing the package — warned that if constitutional amendments were not passed before October 25, the country might face a "face-off"-like situation.

“Matter will be resolved peacefully, if the amendment passed before October 25 […] Otherwise, the situation would lead to confrontation,” he said, adding that amendments would be passed even after October 25 but the situation might turn tense.

He vowed that the PPP will pursue the matter of constitutional court till its completion — a goal he says set in the Charter of Democracy (COD) by slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the PPP’s manifesto.

He was of the view that the 18th Amendment had restored the supremacy of the Constitution of Pakistan and put an end to dictatorship in the country.

“Why a discussion is not being held on the timing of what the judiciary did,” he said, asking why the timing of the stay order on reserved seats verdict was not being questioned.

Bilawal was referring to Supreme Court’s May 6 judgment, suspending the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as well as the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) denying the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) the reserved seats for women and minorities and giving it to other political parties.

Later, the election watchdog suspended the victory notification of the 77 candidates elected on reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies.

The ruling dealt a major blow to the ruling coalition as it lost two-thirds majority in parliament.

“Why no one questioned the timing of top court’s Sept 14 clarification on the day when parliament’s session was scheduled,” the PPP Chairman questioned.

Separately, speaking to a private news channel, the PPP chairman said that the judiciary should be an apolitical institution, adding that the constitutional amendment wasn’t person-specific.

“We want reforms in judiciary,” he said, admitting that the federal government did not take its coalition partners into confidence on the proposed constitutional package. “The amendments could have been presented in a better way.”

Bilawal noted that Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had apprised the Supreme Court judges of judicial reforms. “When the judges came to know about the amendments, they instantly announced the verdict in the reserved seats case,” he said, calling it a “direct interference”.

In response to a question, Bilawal said the tenure of constitutional court’s head would be three years, adding that the Supreme Court’s past history justifies the establishment of the constitutional court.

He regretted the backlog of cases in the apex court, noting that Karachi unrest case, started in 2011, was still lying pending.

A day earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that so far, his party had agreed to the government’s proposal for the formation of a federal constitutional court.

Bilawal said his struggle for the constitutional amendment was not for the current chief justice, Qazi Faez Isa.