ISLAMABAD: The duties of the three organs of state are unambiguously defined in the Constitution. The parliament is to make laws, the executive is to govern, and the judiciary is to interpret the Constitution. In spite of this, the relation between the three is far from cordial at present.
For instance, the executive is found wanting in providing good governance, short in provision of amenities of life at reasonable prices, and deficient in maintaining law and order to protect life and property of citizens. It also has not been able to control fiscal management and generate revenue for economic growth.
Members of parliament, whose primary job is to formulate laws for the welfare of the people, instead crave for development funds, seek quotas in services, and try and exert influence over government functionaries for their own benefit and not for their constituents. The apex court, the sole interpreter of the Constitution and final arbiter of justice, in the eyes of some, has carried out actions that would, perhaps, lie in the ambit of the executive, such as the issuing of directives to heads of institutions and other bodies on various matters, especially prices and so on. The media is the fourth pillar of the state. However, at times, it seems to be manipulating the course of events, rather than standing back and reporting them, as it is supposed to do.
All this has caused unnecessary polarisation in society and this can be checked if all institutions of state abide by their Constitutionally-defined boundaries.
Raja Shafaatullah
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2012.
