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| Zardari asked to seek CJ’s resignation |
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: Abid Sher Ali, chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education, has urged President Asif Ali Zardari to seek resignation from Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar or refer his case to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
The PML-N lawmaker asked the president to send the chief justice’s case to the SJC, along with that of Justice Zawar Hussain Jaffari, who stayed the proceedings of the NA panel ‘in violation of the Constitution.’
In a letter addressed to Zardari on Saturday, Abid Sher Ali also recommended to the president to direct the National Assembly speaker to convene a conference of her counterparts in the provinces and the AJK, all the parliamentary leaders, chairpersons of standing committees, the Senate chairman, etc, to deliberate on a solution to the ongoing tussle between parliament and judiciary.
He feared a continuation of the conflict would aggravate the tension between the two pillars of the state. The following is the text of the letter:
“Dear Mr President,
Hoping that this writing of mine would find you in the best of health and spirits, I am impelled to write to you following a recent controversy over Miss Farah Hameed Dogar’s case that has now put parliament and judiciary at loggerheads and has seriously questioned the supremacy of parliament to which you, being the president of Pakistan, is an integral part.
2. As you must be aware of the fact that while the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Education was seized with reviewing the case of utter public importance when the Islamabad High Court took up the matter and ruled that the judiciary could not intervene in the parliamentary proceedings. But to the utter shock and surprise of many, a Supreme Court judge in his chamber heard the same case the same day and issued restraining order to the standing committee. Not only to my reckoning but in the opinion of constitutional experts also, the Supreme Court order was not only in clear violation of Article 69 of the Constitution but also seriously damaged the supremacy and sovereignty of parliament.
3. This ruling of the Supreme Court, which was evidently handed down in an indecent haste without hearing the other party and to protect the vested interests of one individual, Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, also badly dented the reputation and standing of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In this case, the SC was used as personal fiefdom just to nullify the verbal remarks of the Islamabad High Court, which were meant to uphold the supremacy of parliament.
4. Mr President, we being part of parliament are duty-bound to stand up unambiguously not only to guard the sovereignty of parliament but also to ensure that other pillars of the State, including the judiciary, remain within the four corners of the Constitution and law, and all the fundamental organs of the State continue to function in the greater interest of the people at large.
5. I would like to avail this opportunity to remind (you) of your repeated commitments, both in and out of parliament, that the legislature is supreme and sovereign. I hope I would be proven wrong in my conclusions that I draw from different signals coming out of the official circles, including the presidency, whereby the government seems to be a party in favour of the chief justice despite the Education Ministry’s admission that a glaring illegality was committed in case of the daughter of the chief justice of Pakistan.
6. I feel this vagueness on the part of the government has caused massive frustration among the people as well as the members of parliament. This, I believe, is high time for you being the creation of parliament to send a clear message to all and sundry that parliament is supreme and if anybody, irrespective of his official or judicial status, would try to transgress the domain of parliament, will be held accountable. We can learn from the experiences of the greater democracies, including India, UK and United States, which endorse the supremacy of parliament.
7. Needless to say that if parliament is damaged and its supremacy is undermined in this turf war, you, all the members of parliament and the people of Pakistan will be the ultimate losers.
8. In view of the above, I would recommend the following for your consideration and action:
1) To start with, you may make a polite request to the chief justice of Pakistan to step down or face a possible reference to be filed by the government with the Supreme Judicial Council.
2) A reference may be filed against Justice Zawar Hussain Jaffari of the SC, who in clear violation of the constitutional provisions, stayed the proceedings of the NA Committee on Education.
3) The National Assembly speaker may be asked to convene a conference of her counterparts in the provinces and the AJK, all the parliamentary leaders, chairpersons of standing committees, Senate chairman, etc, to deliberate upon the solution to the present conflict as its continuation will aggravate the tension between parliament and the Supreme Court.
With best regards,
Yours sincerely,
Ch Abid Sher Ali.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
