Altaf seeks SC’s involvement

KARACHI: Founder and leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to come forward and rescue the situation forthwith with regard to the upcoming Senate elections and expressed his dismay over the ongoing crisis.
In a statement on Saturday, Altaf Hussain said countries which subscribe to a written Constitution, such as the US, Canada, India and Pakistan, place their Supreme Courts on a different pedestal, where the Supreme Court is not only the final arbiter but it is also the ‘guardian of the Constitution’.
He further added that presently, Pakistan is in trouble, experiencing a bad law and order situation and a frail economy. The recent threats and attacks from Daish and the Taliban have pushed Pakistan into an undesirable state of war.
The citizens of Pakistan are facing a price hike of even the most of the basic commodities, shortage of petroleum products, despite a decline in the international oil prices, and also massive shortage of gas and electricity, which have virtually crippled the industries of the country. To date, local bodies’ elections have not been held nor the latest census has been announced, causing a blot on the repeated and tall claims of democracy. Very recently, there is a dispute with regard to the procedure to hold Senate elections; while on the one hand it is stated that in order to protect privacy of the individuals, the elections should be held through secret ballot, while on the other hand it is emphasized that in order to avert horse-trading the elections combinations of discourse, which have gravely complicated the matter.
If the matter was taken to the parliament and a Constitutional amendment was brought about, this would hardly remedy the situation as it will further aggravate the situation certainly due to the game of numbers.
At this juncture what is required is a sane and correct decision with regard to the methodology of Senate Elections, so also with regard to local bodies’ elections, investigation into allegations of electoral rigging and remedial action, if any, as also reforms of the elections commission codes.
As the Supreme Court is the guardian of the Constitution, I hereby call upon the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasirul Mulk and his learned companion Judges to suo moto, invoking Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, issue directions under articles 187, 189 and 190 of the Constitution whereby a proper methodology for the Senate Elections is declared and if necessary, a commission be appointed under order 32 of the Supreme Court Rules, whereby members of the Armed Forces, select parliamentarians, lawyers, technocrats and others known in diversified fields, are appointed as members of the commission so as to resolve the present crisis. Pakistan is facing crisis in different areas and as soon as the issues pointed out by me today are resolved, the nation can focus on the most fundamental issue experienced by it i.e. Zarb-e-Azab and its consequential effects. Zarb-e-Azab is not just a war against terror but for us Pakistanis it is the war of survival.
Altaf Hussain, expressing his dismay over the current crisis, urged the Supreme Court to come forward so as to rescue the situation forthwith.