Bilawal vows to fight on all fronts for constitutional court

ISLAMABAD: Expressing his determination to fight on every front for the formation of a constitutional court, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Thursday said he will present his stance on the issue to legal community.

Addressing the People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) at the Zardari House here, he said the process of judicial appointments needed reforms adding the common man must get justice.

He said a former prime minister, his daughter, also a former prime minister, and her husband, a former president, had to wait for five decades for justice. “We must fulfil Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s promises come what may. We must establish a constitutional court in line with the Charter of Democracy,” said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman said the PLF gave Pakistan the 1973 Constitution and stood firm against every tyrant, whether in the form of dictators like Ziaul Haq and General Musharraf, or the then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Bilawal highlighted that the PLF’s struggle led to the restoration of 1973 Constitution and removal of oppressive laws. He recalled how Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, while in Dubai, would receive calls from the PLF.

“She would remark that ‘if judges wish to engage in politics, they should form a political party and contact me in that capacity’. She understood that politicising the courts would be detrimental to democracy, the Constitution and people,” said the PPP chairman.

He said Shaheed Benazir Bhutto herself envisioned the formation of a constitutional court, designed to address the injustices suffered by the people and her family, especially after her father’s judicial murder. “Her vision focused on establishing constitutional courts to handle cases with political and constitutional implications,” he said.

The PPP chairman said the appointment of judges, which constitutionally lay with the prime minister, was later transferred to the chief justice through judicial intervention. He said attempts were made to address the issue in the 18th Amendment, following global examples like the United States, where the legislators held such powers. “However, this effort was derailed by the so-called handshake chief justice, who set a precedent for an insular judicial system. The doctrine of ‘political activism’ initiated by Iftikhar Chaudhry has since been propagated by figures like Saqib Nisar and Gulzar Ahmed. Articles of the Constitution, such as 58 -2B, have been weaponised,” he said.

He noted that 15 percent of the Supreme Court cases were of constitutional nature consuming a significant portion of the time. He questioned whether it would not be appropriate to establish a separate constitutional court, representing the federation, to handle cases that currently consumed 90 percent of the court’s time. Even the parliament has two houses, he said, adding that once the constitutional courts were established, the judges could perform their duties more effectively. He said the government’s proposals were perhaps insufficient, noting that the provinces also needed their own constitutional courts. “In the provincial courts, 50 percent of cases are related to the constitutional issues. Legislation in this regard would provide meaningful relief to people seeking swift and timely justice,” he said.

He stressed that there should be no opposition to the constitutional amendments and reaffirmed his commitment to fighting for the cause.