Just a day after the government successfully blocked the opposition’s move in the National Assembly to bar a disqualified person from holding party office, the apex court emerged as the new arena for contestation over the law. Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar removed objections to several petitions against the Election Act and allowed it for hearing. The objections were related to propriety of the forum for hearing such petitions. The SC registrar had earlier returned the petitions on ground that remedy must first be sought at the High Court level. However, the counsel for one of the petitioners managed to convince the CJP that the matter entailed public interest and, therefore, fell within the original jurisdiction of the court. As these petitions form part of a recent series of pleas heard by the apex court under its original jurisdiction, it is becoming increasingly clear that the judiciary in consultation with the Parliament needs to better define the domain of original jurisdiction and, by extension, the matters of ‘pubic interest’. There are countless issues of public interest raised over the years by activists as well as aggrieved parties — enforced disappearances, agricultural land reforms, student unions ban, poor workplace safety among others — that remain unable to either make it to the court under Article 184 or see quick hearings and verdicts that redress grievances. In such a situation, it would be in the best interest of the principle of separation of powers that objective criteria are laid out following deliberation on the domain of original jurisdiction and public interest. Meanwhile, the opposition’s defeat in the National Assembly has meant that ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can continue to head the ruling party. It seems that unlike what the critics of the ruling party would have us believe, the PML-N stands behind the ousted PM. There were reports of a forward bloc within the ruling party,but the latest development has served to negate the impression. It goes without saying that the swift approval of the bill in question so that Sharif could have been reinstated as the party chief was a case of misuse of power. Such unusual swiftness is hardly shown by lawmakers when it comes to issues concerning public welfare or fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens. However, had the opposition been serious in confronting the government for using parliament to favour an individual, the heads of opposition parties could have taken the bill seriously from the outset. Lobbying for the changes when the bill was under discussion at the standing committee level could have saved the opposition this hassle. The failure of the move shows that the opposition parties in the Parliament lack a clear political strategy despite the ruling party’s ongoing troubles and that the latter remains united under the leadership of the ousted prime minister, contrary to popular belief. * Published in Daily Times, November 24th 2017.