Supreme Court’s powers cannot be curtailed, Sheikh Rasheed tells govt

ISLAMABAD: Reacting to the coalition government’s move aimed at instituting requisite judicial reforms after the judgment in the Punjab CM election case, former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed on Thursday said that the Supreme Court’s sovereignty is protected by the Constitution.

A day earlier, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution seeking the formation of a special parliamentary committee to carry out judicial reforms. The development came after PM Shahbaz Sharif and other ruling parties criticised the top court over its ruling in the CM election case.

In his hard-hitting speech, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari held the judiciary responsible for the state of democracy in the country and accused it of validating all the military takeovers in the past.

Responding to the government’s resolution, Sheikh Rasheed stated, “The SC’s powers can be enhanced but not curtailed.”

Lashing out at the coalition government, Rasheed said, “The SC was called the killer judiciary.” Supporting the judiciary, the leader said, “The SC cannot be made pocket watch or hand stick.”

Reacting to Rana Sanaullah’s statement, the former minister said that the incumbent government could not impose the governor's rule in Punjab.

He also criticised the coalition government over its failure in controlling the value of the dollar. The former minister said that the dollar surged to a record high of “Rs250" against the local unit and forex reserves fell to "$7 billion".

Sheikh Rasheed predicted that PML-N supreme Nawaz Sharif will not return and claimed that the general elections would be held in the country in October and November.