From Bizarre To Ridiculous

Ishtiaq Ahmed

Islamabad: Isn’t it bizarre that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government has organised a public protest demanding the resignation of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial for ordering the release of Imran Khan (IK) following his arrest last Tuesday.

The Chief Justice released IK, declaring that his arrest and detention were unlawful. He is being accused of bias by the government and its allies.

It is to be noted that the Chief Justice is a government appointment.

The PDM, a coalition of 13 political parties that make up the present government, has bizarrely sponsored a public protest by its supporters to demand the resignation of the Chief Justice, who is formally an employee of the government. This can only be described as the most bizarre act of political ineptness and an open admission of the loss of authority and control by the incumbent caretaker government.

The constitution of Pakistan deems the National Assembly to be the country’s supreme body for regulating and governing all the functions of the state, both internal and external. To do this, it is aided by the four principal functional arteries: the civil service, the law and order agencies, the judiciary, and the army.

In the final scheme of things, these functions are ultimately accountable to the elected National Assembly. The will of the National Assembly is always supreme within the parameters of safeguards provided by the constitution of the land.

Accordingly, the government of the day is responsible for appointing and replacing the senior judges of both the High and Supreme Courts within certain constitutional safeguards. This is also the case with the appointment and replacement of senior positions in other governments’ principal functional arteries, including the army.

The Supreme Court, the highest legal authority in the land, is essentially accountable to the overarching authority of the Parliament (the legislature) and not outside it.

Hence, I am unable to comprehend the coalition government’s decision to organise a public protest against one of its constitutional functions. It is this that is so bizarre and ridiculous about this move. It is a political folly of unprecedented magnitude, an admission by the caretaker government of its ineptness and loss of control and authority. Indeed, a confused sense of political direction by any stretch of the imagination

Accordingly, the national interest of Pakistan would be better served if the present caretaker coalition government were to immediately resign to be replaced by an interim national government of the key stakeholders to find a way forward out of the current mess.

Public protests are usually the prerogative of the opposition. The decision by the coalition government to formally sponsor a public protest against one of its key functionaries is indicative of the warped political thinking that presently prevails within the government leadership. The country’s governance is in complete disarray.