ISLAMABAD, (NNI): Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Wednesday writes a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Umar Ata Bandial to convey the sentiments and reservations raised by the Members of the Parliament about the decisions by the top court.
“The House has raised concerns at the recent decisions to interfere with the constitutional powers of the parliament,” the speaker wrote in the letter as the lawmakers called for initiating contempt of parliament proceedings against those who do not follow the resolution of the House.
The letter entitled; “Encroachment Upon The National Assembly’s Power To Approve Expenditure From Federal Consolidated Fund,” has urged the higher judiciary to exercise restraint and respect parliament’s legislative domain.
Raja Parviaz ashraf said, “Dear Sir, As Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan (National Assembly) and custodian of the House, I am writing to you to convey profound concern and unease of the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan regarding some recent decisions of the Supreme Co. and comments made by some Hon’ble Judges, as reported in media.”
At the outset of the letter, the speaker said he was writing to convey the “profound concern and unease” of the country’s elected representatives regarding some recent decisions by the top courts as well as some comments made by some judges.
“The National Assembly strongly feels that these recent decisions amount to encroachment upon two core constitutional functions of the National Assembly i.e. law making and power of the purse,” the letter stated.
In the five-page letter the NA Speaker said: “The SC must, as far as possible, avoid getting involved in [the] political thicket. It is best to leave resolution of political matters by the parliament and the political parties.
“I, on behalf of the National Assembly of Pakistan, urge the honourable chief justice and judges of the supreme court to exercise restraint, and respect the legislative domain on parliament.
“We must work together to uphold the Constitution, protect the democratic values and work within our respective constitutional domains to ensure that confrontation between the organs of the state is avoided and the constitutional order is maintained,” he said.
He said that the House felt that the “recent decisions” amounted to encroaching on its two core constitutional functions i.e. law making and power of the purse.
Raja Parvez Ashraf said that the country has been suffering from a state of agitation and he understands the concerns of the people, and believes that the Supreme Court should be made aware of the sentiments of the National Assembly members.
Citing Article 73 of the Constitution, the NA speaker said he was writing to convey the assembly’s “profound concern and deep unease” regarding the orders passed by the three-judge SC bench, in which it directed the central bank, the Finance Division and the government to allocate/release Rs21bn to the ECP.
“For present purposes, I draw your attention to Article 73 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Constitution), which vests powers related to Money Bill exclusively in the National Assembly. Articles 79 to 85 confer power and authority to approve expenditure from the Federal Consolidated Fund on the elected members of the National Assembly. Keeping in view these unambiguous constitutional provisions and division of powers and functions, I write to convey the profound concern and deep unease of the National Assembly with the orders passed by a 3-member Bench of the Supreme Court, on 14-04-2023 and 19-04-2023, directing the State Bank of Pakistan and Finance Division, Government of Pakistan to allocate/ release Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan,” the letter reads.
He went on to say that by doing so, the bench had ignored the fact that the NA had passed a resolution against the SC’s decision to quash the ECP’s decision to delay polls in Punjab till October and had rejected the Charged Sums for General Elections (Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and KP) Bill, while the NA standing committee had directed the Finance Division to seek the assembly’s prior approval.
“It is sadly noted that the three-member bench’s orders have completely disregarded the constitutional process and the prerogative of the NA with respect to financial matters,” he said.
He added that the bench “appeared to be in a hurry” and had, therefore, given “unusual directions” to the government to authorise the expenditure from the Federal Consolidated Fund “and then present it as fait accompli to the NA”.
“Keeping in view these unambiguous constitutional provisions and division of powers and functions, I write to convey the profound concern of the National Assembly with the orders passed by a 3-member Bench of the Supreme Court, directing the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Finance Division to release Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),” it noted.
NA Speaker, in the letter, stated that these orders were passed notwithstanding that such release has expressly been forbidden by the National Assembly.
Raja Ashraf said: “The SC must, as far as possible, avoid getting involved in political thicket. It is best to leave resolution of political matters by the parliament and the political parties.”
“I, on behalf of the NA of Pakistan, urge the honourable chief justice and judges of the supreme court to exercise restraint, and respect the legislative domain on parliament.”
“We must work together to uphold the Constitution, protect the democratic values and work within our respective constitutional domains to ensure that confrontation between the organs of the state is avoided and the constitutional order is maintained,” he concluded.
NA speaker had written to CJP Bandial after taking “sense of the House” and on the call of several lawmakers. The decision also followed the federal cabinet’s decision to again refer to parliament the finance ministry’s summary for the release of funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for polls in Punjab and KP.
It is sadly noted that the 3-member Bench’s orders have completely disregarded the constitutional process and the prerogative of the National Assembly with respect to financial matters.
The 3-member Bench of the Supreme Court appears to both a hurry and has given unusual directions to the Federal Government to authorize the expenditure of Rs21 billion from the Federal Consolidated Fund and then present it as fait accompli to the National Assembly.
The ex-part facto rejection of this amount by the National Assembly, which will most certainly happen, would make this authorization, albeit on court orders, unconstitutional and will surely lead to untoward consequences for the Federal Government.
“The constitutional courts have the power to interpret the Constitution, however, such power does not include rewriting the Constitution or undermining the sovereignty of the Parliament. It is not the prerogative of the 3-member Bench of the Supreme Court to give directions for release of funds while ignoring the constitutional provisions, which the Hon’ble Judges have taken oath to preserve, protect and defend. The National Assembly firmly believes that the power of the purse belongs solely to the National Assembly, comprising of the directly elected representatives of the people of Pakistan. The National Assembly shall defend this right and prerogative granted to it by the people and the Constitution. Any attempt to circumvent and sidestep the constitutional mechanism and due process shall be repelled by the National Assembly,” the letter said.
“The Supreme Court must, as far as possible, avoid getting involved in political thicket. It is best to leave resolution of political matters by the Parliament and the political parties. I, on behalf of the National Assembly of Pakistan, urge the Hon’ble Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, individually and collectively, to exercise restraint and respect the legislative domain of the Parliament. We must work together to uphold the Constitution, protect the democratic values and work within our respective constitutional domains to ensure that confrontation between the organs of the State is avoided and the constitutional order is maintained,” the NA Speaker writes in the letter. NNI
