Another clash between the executive and judiciary is brewing in Pakistan as the government is rushing a new law to make the contempt of court irrelevant for the President, the Prime Minister, the chief ministers and the governors.
On Monday night, the government passed the Contempt of Court bill 2012 amid strong protest by the Opposition.
However, the government suspended all relevant rules to get the nod in this regard from the Lower House of Parliament.
On Tuesday, the government tabled the bill in the Senate, the Upper House of the Parliament, and is set to pass it on Wednesday as the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and allies have a two-thirds majority in the House.
President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to sign the bill into law later on Wednesday which would make it impossible for the Supreme Court to convict new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf even if he refuses to comply with the court’s orders to reopen corruption cases against President Zardari.
Mr Ashraf, like former Premier Yousaf Raza Gilani, is unlikely to implement the Supreme Court’s decision to reopen corruption cases against President Zardari which could fetch him a conviction for contempt of court.
Mr Gilani was disqualified on June 19 for repeatedly refusing to comply with the Supreme Court’s orders. PM Ashraf, who replaced Mr Gilani, has been asked to tell the Supreme Court on July 12 whether he would implement the judicial order or not. He has also been warned that his predecessor was disqualified on the same grounds.
The Prime Minister has publicly said he will not write to the Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against President Zardari as the President enjoys immunity. The bill, dubbed by the Opposition as “aggression against the judiciary” is most likely to become an Act of the Parliament before July 12.
Law minister Farooq H. Naek has also introduced the 21st Amendment Bill‚ 2012 in the National Assembly and the Senate which provides for increasing the family pension from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for the widows of the judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts. Two parties — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and partner in coalition government Awami National Party (ANP) — staged walkout from Senate on Tuesday against the 22nd Amendment Bill regarding dual nationality.
Members of the PPP, including Mian Raza Rabbani and Aitzaz Ahsan, also voiced reservations over the bill, which has been remanded to the concerning standing committee. Aitzaz Ahsan said that at the time of taking oath of the US citizenship, one has to pledge to relinquish the nationality of any other country and fight for the USA, adding, “How the government could enter in dual nationality agreement with the US”.
Legal experts fear the Supreme Court might strike down the contempt of court law as Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had made it clear the judiciary can annul any law that is repugnant to the Constitution.