Sharif’s side up as CJ Shah goes on leave

However, a 10-member Bench, which suspended Shah yesterday, continued hearing a petition challenging his appointment on grounds of seniority.Justice Mian, the seniormost judge in the Apex Court, took the oath of the acting Chief Justice this morning and urged the people to “pray for me and for the Supreme Court”.

On the other hand, Justice Shah who yesterday passed an order as the Chief Justice restoring President’s powers to sack federal Government and dissolve the National Assembly, went on leave till next month. Shah is due to retire on February 16.

SC registrar M Zakaullah said Justice Shah telephoned him and said he was proceeding on leave since “under peculiar circumstances an acting Chief Justice has been appointed”.

This rather surprising climax to what started as a judiciary-executive row has far reaching consequences for the constitutional governance of the country, say legal experts. It has titled apparently disproportionately the balance of power in favour of the Prime Minister. “With a hand-picked man in the Presidency and a weakened judiciary there will be no check on his absolute authority,” says constitutional expert Muhammad Ilyas Khan. The President’s resignation may, say many, mark a turning point in Pakistan’s politico-legal history.Leghari’s resignation paves the way for the election of the Premier’s own man to the Presidency, who will act merely as a titular head of state. With the superior judiciary driven by internal strife, the Prime Minister can look forward to a long innings of unchallenged personal rule enjoyed by few civilian rulers in the country.

Abid Hasan Manto, the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, commented, “Who is right or who is wrong and who has prevailed today is the question that is being raised. In my view only chaos prevails.”

Manto said it was a sad commentary on Pakistan’s national affairs that political elements opposed to each other persist in influencing other institutions. Manto’s association had made last-ditch efforts to get the warring sides within the judiciary to sort out their differences but their efforts were thwarted when both sides went on the warpath on Tuesday morning.

Legal experts say that it is “a matter of time,” that the suspended constitutional amendments will be restored. The Chief Justice had suspended the 14 Amendment in November and the 13th Amendment on Tuesday morning. The 14th Amendment, known as the Anti-Defection Law, bounds members of Parliament to vote according to their party line or face disqualification while the 13th Amendment annulled the powers of the President to sack an elected Government.

Members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party say that the Prime Minister may bring even more amendments in the Constitution to fortify his rule. The Parliament is unlikely to act more independently than it has done so far, allowing the Government to bulldoze any legislation it wants to get through.

Leghari will remain immune from any legal challenges to any act done by him as President, although he will be open to proceedings for anything done in his personal capacity such as the Mehran bank land scam. Under this, Leghari is accused of selling his land at exorbitant rates in a deal with political strigs attached.

There may be more interesting times ahead for Sharif’s Government, say observers, and although he has been able to buy some respite for himself, his opponents are now re-grouping for another attack on him.