Petitioners to seek SC review on exclusion of Islamic provisions

ISLAMABAD: Some of the petitioners in the 21st Amendment case intend to file a review petition mainly to get the Islamic features of the constitution included in the basic structure.
Former president Supreme Court Bar Association Hamid Khan told The News that the Islamic provisions of our constitution make our democracy distinctive for being blended with Islamic provisions, without which there will be no difference between the systems of Pakistan and India.
Hamid Khan, who was one of the leading petitioners in the 21st amendment case, said that he would file for a review on several other aspects of the judgment but would earnestly ask for correction in relation to Islamic provision.
He explained that the judgment talked about “parliamentary form of government” instead of “parliamentary form of government blended with Islamic provisions” as one of the “salient features” of the constitution.
Khan added that Islam being the basis of Pakistani democracy and the parliamentary form of government is a settled matter. However, in the latest SC judgment there is only the mention of “parliamentary form of government” instead of “parliamentary form of government blended with Islamic provisions”.
Another petitioner and former president Rawalpindi High Court Bar Taufiq Asif told this correspondent that he would also file a review with emphasis on the same point to protect the Islamic ideology and Islamic basis of the constitution of Pakistan.
Asif said that no “salient feature” of the constitution is more important than its Islamic basis and the Islamic provisions.
The main decision in the 18th and the 21st amendment had declared democracy, parliamentary form of government and independence of judiciary as being the salient features, which can’t be altered or deleted by Parliament.
The identified “salient features”, however, conspicuously miss any reference to the Islamic provisions. In the main decision, it is written, “The salient features as are ascertainable from the constitution including democracy, parliamentary form of government and independence of judiciary.” However, the past judgments as discussed in the latest verdict talked about “parliamentary form of government blended with Islamic injunctions”.
The decision has created doubts in many minds about the Islamic provisions as being one of the salient features.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice (R) Wajiuddin Ahmad and ex-member election commission Justice (R) Tariq Mehmood had termed it an “omission” and hoped that in the review stage the correction would be made.
What is interesting to note is the fact mentioned in the relevant paras of the latest ruling in which the past judgments talk about “parliamentary form of government blended with Islamic provision” as being one of the “salient features” but in the latest judgment’s conclusive part there is only the mentioning of “parliamentary form of government”.
Paragraphs 60 and 61 of the main judgment say: “60. An overview of the judgments reproduced or cited herein above, more particularly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s case (supra),Wukala Mahaz case (supra), Zafar Ali Shah’s case (supra) and Pakistan Lawyers Forum’s case (supra),reveal that this Court has referred to the prominent characteristics, which define the constitution and are its salient features. Some of such characteristics mentioned in the aforesaid judgments, including democracy, federalism, Parliamentary form of government blended with the Islamic provisions, independence of judiciary, fundamental rights, equality, justice and fair play.
“61. It may not be necessary to conclusively determine the salient features of the constitution, however, democracy, parliamentary form of government and independence of judiciary are certainly included in the prominent characteristics, forming the Salient Features, which are primarily relevant for the adjudication of the list at hand.”
From this particular judgment, the identified salient features - democracy, parliamentary form of government and independence of judiciary - got the judiciary safeguard from being altered, deleted or abrogated by Parliament. However, no such clear ruling is available in the case of Islamic provisions of the Constitution, which provides the foundation for the Islamic state.