A solution of judicial activism on January 31, 2019Much has been said and much has been written on the menace of judicial activism of Pakistan’s Supreme Court (SC), but hardly any worthwhile, effective solution, other than platitudes of restraint, has been offered to curb the menace. When we speak of judicial activism we tend to speak in broad spectrums, although in actuality its […]
Anomaly: the ‘suomoto’ jurisdiction II on October 13, 2018Fifthly, it’s in the realm of politics and political affairs that the invocation of ‘suomoto’ jurisdiction by the apex court is most egregious. The saga of ‘Panama’ related cases that stemmed from the trilogy of ‘suomoto’ actions against the elected Prime Minister has painfully highlighted this issue. It’s a basic principle of adjudication that questions […]
Anomaly: the’suomoto’ jurisdiction on October 12, 2018The seemingly unfettered scope of unique ‘suomoto’ jurisdiction in our Pakistan Constitution, Article 184 (3), strikes at the very foundations of our republican form of government. Jurisdiction is the authority given to various courts by law or constitution to hear and decide a case. Basically there are two kinds of jurisdiction: appellate jurisdiction and original […]
Election Act decision — a legal analysis on March 26, 2018In the light of constitution, the apex court’s decision to prohibit Nawaz Sharif from heading his political party is nothing but an unfair stretch of its ambit. The learned SC asserts that ‘(U)nder Article 63-A of the Constitution, the position of a Party Head of a political party that has a representation in, inter alia […]
Supreme Court: getting it right on April 25, 2016At last credit to our Supreme Court (SC) for finally getting it right in disposing of Dr Tahirul Qadri’s petition challenging the composition of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), after a spate of highly questionable orders, decisions, verdicts such as in the NRO, memo, Gilani cases. etc. The SC correctly ruled — though after […]
Nation refusing to defend itself on April 22, 2016So our army brass has now come to the brilliant conclusion that the Taliban/jihadis’ internal threat constitutes the biggest security risk to the country. Indeed! This belated acknowledgment comes after a period of no less than a decade when this internal enemy first launched its attacks against the state and people of Pakistan, after the […]
State action on August 30, 2014The drama being played out in Islamabad is a farcical tragedy. It is a farce because a lone minority representation of people is challenging to bring down the country’s entire political system, and a tragedy because, in the process, it is eroding whatever little authority the state or the government is left with, while causing […]
Judicial overreach on August 11, 2013People, in general, have a tendency to be complacent, to roll with the punches as they say in order to get by and get along. Well, almost always until stark reality, like a ton of bricks, hits them in the face. So it seems was the case with our people taking the restraint, objectivity and […]
Judicial excesses and the new government on July 1, 2013Like a carnivorous animal that cannot change its man-hunting ways once it gets a taste of human flesh, a human being who once gets a taste of power will similarly not let go of it easily. Our judiciary is a case in point. How else can you explain the Supreme Court’s taking of suo motu […]
Shameful elections on May 5, 2013Relentless and merciless bombings and cold-blooded assassinations by the Taliban, directed against the leaders and members of the three major parties — the Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) — have shred the writ of the state into pieces, literally into very tiny pieces on the bombing grounds. And […]