HYDERABAD:
Despite fervent attempts to dispel the spectre of clash amongst state institutions, a senior ruling party leader admitted they were concerned by the judiciary.
Federal Law Minister Maula Bux Chandio, addressing the legal fraternity at the Sindh Bar Council hall on Saturday, said, “Among the four or five powerful institutions in the country, no one is challenging the authority of the other.”
He added, however, that historically, the judiciary’s decisions have proven to be hostile towards the PPP leadership.
“It is the history of relationship which concerns us all,” he said.
Friction over the Memogate scandal has led to increasingly-vocal altercations between the executive, the judiciary and the military.
Memogate: looking ahead
When asked about President Asif Zardari’s reply to the Supreme Court in the memogate case, Chandio said: “All constitutional and legal formalities will be fulfilled.”
He said the government will not demand resignation from Inter-Services Intelligence chief Shuja Pasha, following allegations of his involvement in a coup plot by the Pakistani-origin American businessman, and self-proclaimed whistleblower in the Memogate scandal, Mansoor Ijaz.
“It is up to the common people of the country to demand [his resignation] … the government will not.”
Chandio added that former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani had resigned due to public pressure and because the government wanted to ensure transparency in the inquiry.
Hitting out at PML-N
The law minister also hit out at the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, “for undermining democracy”. He accused the PML-N of employing ‘all tactics to achieve power’.
“We have serious objection to Nawaz Sharif’s statement in the Supreme Court that parliament was ineffective. History will not forgive him if the court gave any ruling on the basis of his statement,” the law minister said.
He rhetorically asked why the opposition is sitting in parliament, enjoying salaries and perks, and even passing the laws if the house is, as they said, ‘ineffective’.
They should resign en masse, he suggested.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2011.
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