Clash of institutions

The stand-off between the Supreme Court and the government could threaten our system of checks and balances. Shaken by the corruption allegations against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s son Arsalan Chuadhry and finally finding itself in the crossfire after years of popularity, the Supreme Court has essentially declared itself beyond the purview of financial accountability. Some would say that by claiming that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cannot probe the conduct of judges, including whether they were given additional plots of land, the Supreme Court has elevated itself above those that it judges.

Having been stung by Yousaf Raza Gilani’s disqualification by the Supreme Court and with his replacement, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf facing the same threat, the PPP is on course to pass a law exempting government officials from charges of contempt of court. The PPP may be using standard legislative powers to protect itself but the end result is likely to be as hurtful for the separation of powers and can lead to a further clash between institutions. Even if the Supreme Court, in the judgment of the government, had overreached by charging Mr Gilani with contempt, to pass a law based on that would be a folly. Recall that in 1997, the Nawaz Sharif government wanted to pass an almost identical law to reign in the Supreme Court, when Sajjad Ali Shah was chief justice. Sharif’s supporters then went on to raid the Supreme Court, an act that certainly qualifies as contempt and should have been severely punished. The PPP, blinded by its own narrow interests, seems not to have realised that.

The fact is that every institution needs to be kept in check by other independent government institutions. The PPP has already submitted itself to the mercy of the Supreme Court in the case of Mr Gilani. One can only hope that further confrontation between the executive and judiciary does not take place.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2012.