JUI-F denies deal on constitutional court

Clarifies it cannot accept military courts

ISLAMABAD:

The JUI-F has clarified that it does not want any constitutional court superior in status to the Supreme Court of Pakistan and that the party has not come to an agreement with the ruling coalition on this contentious point of its proposed constitutional amendment package.

The political party which can play a key role in the passage of the constitutional amendment package that the PML-N led federal government has been desperate to implement before October 25, the date on which the incumbent Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, is set to retire.

There have been speculations that the religious party is amenable to the proposal of establishing a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). However, the JUI-F spokesperson, Aslam Ghauri, on Thursday issued a statement clarifying the party's stance on the issue.

According to Ghauri, the government miscalculated the JUI-F and thought that because it comprises clerics, it would agree to its proposal easily. "If we had reached an agreement with the government, why would we be drafting a separate bill that still needs to be finalized?" he asked. "At the moment, 90% of our draft is ready, and we will share it with the PTI and the PPP. We will also present our draft to bar councils, the media, and the public."

He said no constitutional position or any such matter has been settled with the government and the JUI-F stands firm on its principled stance that any constitutional amendment should be acceptable to all.

The spokesperson said it is the government's headache to get the Constitution amended before October 25, not that of the JUI-F. "We've learned some law by now, and we don't even recognize this election."

He said if there is no consensus on the constitutional court, a separate bench could be formed in the Supreme Court.

"A constitutional bench should consist of four or five judges, under the supervision of the Chief Justice. Our suggestion for a separate bench should be accepted by the government. It can be done in a way similar to the Shariat Appellate Court," he said.

The JUI-F official noted that the government has not been transparent in connection with the proposed amendment package and sought support for it without first sharing its draft.

He said the government later shared different drafts with different political parties raising eyebrows. "The draft we were given was affecting the fundamental rights of the people, and then there were issues like the age and transfer of judges," he said.

He said that before the passage of the 17th Amendment, JUI-F had suggested raising the retirement age of judges, but the PPP had opposed it at the time.

"We asked the PPP how they suddenly shifted to support increasing the retirement age for judges, despite opposing it earlier."