CII

This letter refers to the recent remarks by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on the accountability law. Every now and then, the CII bursts out with its observations about a law or an issue, creating a furor. Irrespective of the validity or otherwise of the CII’s reported remarks, the key issue is that of the jurisdiction of the CII. According to the constitution of Pakistan, CII does not have any authority to take a suo moto action. It can examine a law specifically referred to it by the authorities described in the constitution. This rarely happened after the military rule of General Zia. Secondly, CII does not have any authority to declare any law ‘unconstitutional’. A federal minister has rightly questioned the role of the CII. The government should save millions of rupees being unnecessarily spent on the CII and abolish it altogether.

Sikander Aqeel Ansari

Islamabad