A fantasy

Sheikh Rashid has always depended on extra-constitutional interventions in our democratic system for his relevance. We now see him demanding the chief justice of the Supreme Court to impose a “judicial martial law” in the country. What this means is that he wants the chief justice, whose job it is to ensure that the constitution is being followed, to step outside the dictates of the law and appoint his own setup. Thankfully, and quite naturally, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has clearly stated that there is no provision for this kind of judicial martial law in the constitution. But it is still worth pondering the motivations of Sheikh Rashid since it provides a clear picture of what the PTI and its allies may just be hoping for in order to come to power. It would seem that Sheikh Rashid – and by extension the PTI, considering how close Rashid has been to the party’s policies – feel the only way to assume power is if the scales are tipped in their favour. The use of the phrase ‘judicial martial law’ is notable but this is exactly what former PTI leader Javed Hashmi had warned about. On multiple occasions since the PTI dharna in 2014, Hashmi claimed that Imran Khan wanted the government dissolved and the Supreme Court to take charge for 90 days as a prelude to the PTI coming into power. Hashmi too called this a judicial martial law, and that is what Sheikh Rashid is now demanding.

There is a clearly laid-down procedure for appointing a caretaker government in the constitution. The government, in consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, will choose a caretaker prime minister and then the government will pick individual ministers. Should the two sides not agree on a name, a parliamentary committee with an equal number of government and opposition members has to choose the caretaker prime minister. If there is still a stalemate, the decision goes to the Election Commission of Pakistan. The Supreme Court has no role to play in the process. More relevantly for Sheikh Rashid, neither does the PTI since the leader of the opposition is from the PPP. Essentially, once again we see willingness to discard the constitution and the urge to see it violated if it clashes with a party’s self-interest. Such thinking is dangerous and should be repudiated by everyone who claims to be a democrat or wants what is best for this country.