Interference of courts in Parliament’s proceedings regrettable: Rabbani

ISLAMABAD: Former Senate chairman Senator Raza Rabbani on Thursday said the continued interference in the proceeding of the Parliament by the judiciary is regrettable as Article 69 of the Constitution asks courts not to inquire into the proceedings of Parliament.

“The stay of proceedings by the Islamabad High Court of the special committee of the National Assembly on audio tapes is in violation of Article 69 of the Constitution,” he said in a statement on Thursday while commenting on the court’s decision on the proceedings of the National Assembly’s committee on audio leak investigations. Rabbani said the Article 69 provides the courts should not inquire into the proceedings of Parliament. “The same cannot be inquired into or interfered with,” he said, adding that the proceedings of a parliamentary committee are an extension of the Parliament and are therefore immune.

He said there are a number of rulings of the Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker on this issue, adding that it is a violation of the trichotomy of power as envisaged in the Constitution. “All institutions must remain within their constitutional parameters to let parliamentary democracy function,” he stressed.