PBC member fears judiciary may be used to postpone elections

Raheel Sheikh urges council representatives to pass resolution to resist any such attempt

ISLAMABAD: A representative of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has expressed fear that the upcoming general elections might be postponed with the help of judiciary.

PBC executive member Raheel Kamran Sheikh wrote a letter to all 22 representatives of the legal fraternity’s apex body, calling upon them to pass a strong resolution that they will resist any move by the judiciary to postpone the upcoming general elections.

“The judicial process is being invoked every now and then by some political parties and certain politicians even for the settlement of disputes which are essentially of political nature,” says the letter from Sheikh.

“Resorting to the judicial process for settlement of such disputes is not only undemocratic but also carries with it the potential to expose the judiciary to criticism, which is unacceptable,” it adds.

Through the letter, Sheikh calls upon the elected representatives of the bar “to firmly resolve not to be part of any undemocratic recourse to represent any political party or a political leader for a judicial resolution of any dispute which is essentially of political nature”.



It goes on to state, “It is further submitted that given the propensity to invoke the judicial process for the settlement of disputes which are essentially of political nature, it is not inconceivable that after [the] dissolution of the assemblies on completion of their term and appointment of the interim governments, some of the political parties and politicians, who are not very hopeful of securing significant results in the General Elections 2018, may use the judicial process for postponement of the General Elections on one pretext or the other.”

The PBC member also writes that postponement of general elections are not only constitutional deviations but violative of the fundamental rights of the citizens, and undermine the democratic process. Therefore, the apex bar should resolve to demand not only that the general elections 2018 must be held on time and must not at all be postponed on any pretext whatsoever, it adds.

“We must further resolve to vehemently oppose any request made to the judiciary for the postponement of the General Elections 2018 on any ground whatsoever,” says the letter.



However, Sheikh has also highlighted another issue, wherein he criticised political parties, especially the PML-N, for raising questions on PCO judges.

“Although only a couple of judges are now left in the judiciary who took oath under the first PCO issued during the dictatorial regime of General Pervez Musharraf and they refused to take oath when another PCO was issued on 3rd November, 2007 resulting in their unconstitutional removal, etc, followed by the movement for the restoration of judiciary, any criticism by the ruling political party in 2017-18 labelling them as PCO judges is not well motivated for such judges who established their independence in 2007,” the letter states.

“Even otherwise, on the plane of political morality, such criticism is unjustified until and unless all those politicians who joined hands with one or the other military dictator at any point in time of the history are removed from their political parties or at least made to tender public apology for their political and constitutional turpitude,” it concludes.