ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned state institutions to abide by their constitutional limits and emphasized that the government will not allow anyone to interfere with the parliament’s affairs.
Khawaja Asif’s comments come as the federal government is currently in a standoff with the Supreme Court of Pakistan over the issue of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa general elections, as well as a bill that seeks to limit the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s suo motu powers.
“No one will be allowed to breach the jurisdiction of the parliament,” Asif told a private news channel, adding that the government wants to strengthen the judiciary to help the masses in availing justice. He further stated that the background needs to be examined for the current issues in the Supreme Court.
Asif stressed that parliament is the “mother of democracy”; however, due to the ongoing situation in the country, the forum is less involved in politics compared to the Supreme Court. “The institutions should respect their constitutional limits,” Khawaja Asif said, asking them not to breach their jurisdiction.
The National Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution stating that the parliament’s prerogative of legislation can neither be usurped nor interfered with.
The apex court, while exercising ‘anticipatory injunction,’ stayed the implementation of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure Bill) 2023 to limit the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notice and form benches.
Defence Minister welcomes COAS’s comments on Parliament’s supremacy
Regarding Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir’s in-camera briefing to the National Assembly’s (NA) National Security Committee, Khawaja Asif said the top military leader’s comments on the supremacy of the parliament were welcoming. “The COAS’s comments on the parliament and the Constitution are of extreme significance as people run the institutions,” the minister added.
Pakistan has been facing severe economic and political turmoils, and the current standoff between the government and the Supreme Court has added to the country’s already precarious situation. Asif’s warning to state institutions comes amid concerns that the ongoing crisis may further destabilize the country.
