Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Asif made a fiery speech in parliament on Tuesday wherein he criticized the judiciary after the Supreme Court demanded record of National Assembly proceedings related to discussions over a law limiting the powers of the country’s top judge before it was passed by the house.
An eight-member apex court bench instructed the attorney general of Pakistan to share the parliamentary proceedings while hearing petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Bill, 2023, saying it wanted to understand the concern of lawmakers who had endorsed the bill.
The law sought to limit the power of Pakistan’s chief justice to solely initiate public interest litigation on his own through suo moto proceedings. It also diluted his administrative power to constitute benches and determine their composition by involving more judges in the process.
Reacting to the apex court’s recent hearing, Pakistan’s defense minister warned that “enough [was] enough.” He maintained that parliamentary proceedings were open to the public and broadcast live on television channels while asking the speaker to write a letter to the court and demand record of its proceedings ahead of some of its recent judgments.
“We will have to defend our institution,” he told lawmakers sitting in the National Assembly, adding: “We will have to rise above our own political differences and fight this war for the supremacy of this institution.” Asif criticized the judiciary’s past record, saying it had supported military dictators and even allowed them to amend the constitution.
He maintained the Supreme Court judges should be held accountable for its verdicts, saying they had undermined parliamentary supremacy by issuing rulings against democratically elected prime ministers.
