Daily Times

It seems that the execution of the Supreme Court’s order in the contempt case has met stiff resistance from the stalwarts of parliamentary supremacy. Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza on Thursday refused to send a reference to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani following his conviction by the Supreme Court for contempt on April 26. The Speaker dismissed such calls by saying that the PM’s disqualification cannot be substantiated under clause (2) of Article 63 of the constitution and also the verdict of the SC makes no mention of the PM’s disqualification. She also showed her annoyance over the contents of the letters sent by the SC’s Assistant Registrar to her and the election commission demanding implementation of the court’s verdict. The Speaker’s concerns hold weight as whether the court has powers to ‘direct’ the Speaker to submit to the court’s will, and that too before the expiry of the one-month deadline during which the PM has a right to appeal against the verdict, is murky ground to say the least. The Speaker has exercised her power, which cannot be challenged in the superior court under Article 69 of the constitution. The Speaker’s decision was much anticipated though the legal team of the PM had completed the required documentation to file an appeal against the SC verdict. While announcing her decision, the Speaker also cited a few cases in which former Speakers of the NA had exercised their prerogative declaring the question of convicted members’ disqualification null and void. As prior precedent exists, the Speaker’s ruling in favour of the PM appears to be a firmer stumbling block than expected. If the ECP intervenes, the impartiality of the present Chief Election Commissioner Justice Shakirullah Jan will come under question. The Speaker has definitely come to the PM’s rescue at a crucial time. However, her decision has unleashed a hue and cry from the opposition, severely criticising her for serving PM Gilani’s interests by taking advantage of her position. Ch Nisar Ali Khan, the opposition leader in the NA and member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has said that his party’s legal advisors would review the Speaker’s ruling, after which the party will decide its course of action. It is worth mentioning that the PML-N has been criticising the PM over this issue since the verdict. Undue criticism sometimes gives way to the feeling that it is opposing the PM for the sake of opposition. Since the Speaker’s decision, a debate has been unleashed among the members of the legal fraternity. There are those who believe that the SC has powers to review it as in a few fake degree cases, it forwarded the disqualification references of a few members of the NA directly to the ECP while some are of the opinion that the decision of parliament should be considered as supreme. It remains to be seen whether the PM will go ahead and file an appeal before the SC after the Speaker’s ruling. A cold war that started between the executive and judiciary on December 16, 2009, over the NRO case does not seem as if it will end in the near future. The case has created a deadlock between the two state institutions. It remains to be seen whether in this case the immovable object will crack or the irresistible force will wane. *