ISLAMABAD: Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman said that legislation like Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 is sovereign and constitutional right of lower house of Parliament. Participating in debate on legislative proposal related to judicial reforms, she said that Prime Minister in his speech had aptly made clear depiction of situation.

Senator Rehman said notions like powers delegated to one person and imperial Supreme Court were not stated by this house. She added that in current situation, dissenting voices were arising from within benches of Court. She said, “We have for first time seen such situation of division and indecisiveness in Pakistan. This division is not good for benches, courts and country because rule of law is right of this house and legislation is right of this house that has been asserted today.”

Concerns related to this Bill made by members of the house and media should not have this impact that the house was influencing an institution, she added. “Parliament at moment is exercising its sovereign right and power. There has been hue and cry on this matter for over past four decades since time of General Zia-ul-Haq,” she said. She underlined that during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s trial, two judges were moved out and trial was delayed until his judicial assassination.

One retired after complete season and one got ill and then after creating balance in bench of apex court dictator got sentence of his will. “After that judicial assassination that changed history of country which world had endorsed, General Zia had conferred all powers of bench formation and hearing of cases to one person. It has taken us 43 years but it is time to reverse that law and it’s right of Parliament,” Sherry said.

Minister said that it did not mean that judiciary and legislature demanded some confrontation and there was no direct confirmation between two. She added that no responsible Parliament would ever wish to create conflict with institutions in times of uncertainty.  She stated that coalition government introduced NAB Laws amendments that did not benefit them but rather Imran Khan and his party leaders who elsewhere would have been in remand for 90 days. “We are not party that is hiding from anything and neither is this government whether it is polls or any judicial proceeding. Justice must be done but it must be seemed to be done,” she said.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 30 2023

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