ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Parvaiz Ashraf on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandiyal, to convey the concerns of the elected representatives.
The NA Speaker said, “Dear Sir, As Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan (National Assembly) and custodian of the House, I am writing to you to convey profound concern of the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan regarding some recent decisions of the Supreme Court and comments made by some Hon’ble Judges, as reported in the press.”
new doc 04-26-2023 21.37_compressedNational Assembly Speaker Pens Letter to Supreme Court
“The NA strongly feels that these recent decisions amount to encroachment upon two core constitutional functions of the National Assembly i.e. (i) Is making and (U) power of the purse.
“For present purposes, I draw your attention to Article 73 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Constitution), which vests powers related to Money Bill exclusively in the NA.
The National Assembly notes with great concern that despite knowing the consequences and effects of such prior authorization, which will be rejected by the National Assembly when presented for ex-post facto approval, the 3- member Bench of the Supreme Court has threatened the Federal Government of ‘serious consequences’ for not authorizing the expenditure of Rs21 billion.
The constitutional courts have the power to interpret the constitution, however, such power does not include rewriting the constitution. It is not the prerogative of the 3-member Bench of the Supreme Court to give directions for the release of funds while ignoring the constitutional provisions, which the Hon’ble Judges have taken oath to preserve, protect and defend.
National Assembly firmly believes that the power of the purse belongs solely to the National Assembly, comprising of the directly elected representatives of the people of Pakistan. The National Assembly shall defend this right and prerogative granted to it by the people and the Constitution. Any attempt to circumvent and sidestep the constitutional mechanism and due process shall be repelled by the National Assembly.
I, on behalf of the National Assembly of Pakistan, urge the Hon’ble Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, individually and collectively, to exercise restraint and respect the legislative domain of the Parliament.
“We must work together to uphold the Constitution, protect the democratic values and work within our respective constitutional domains to ensure that confrontation between the organs of State is avoided and the constitutional order is maintained,” he concluded.
