President returns bill limiting CJ’s powers
ISLAMABAD: REFERENCES: Speaker Dry Aric Alvin on Saturday tabled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 – which seeks to curtail the power of a Pakistani judge to consider and hold a hearing on behalf of the Parliament for reconsideration or. signed the bill into law in an effort to resolve the nation’s constitutional and political crisis.
The bill, which has already been passed by the National Assembly and the Senate, was passed after the Supreme Court’s decision to order elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa within 90 days of dissolution and others.
According to a statement from the presidential secretariat, President Alvin returned the bill “in accordance with Article 75 of the Constitution”, adding that “this prima facie law exceeds parliamentary competence and can be attacked as a colored law”.
However, Prime Minister Sheba Sharif said the withdrawal of the Supreme Court Act, which was duly approved by Parliament, was the most unfortunate step. In a tweet on Twitter, he said: “President Alvin withdrawing the Supreme Court which was actually approved by Parliament is quite unfortunate. By his conduct, he is contemptuous of the august office, acting like a PTI worker, one who is more responsible to Imran Nazi than to the Constitution and the demands of his office.”
“The President said that he thought it fit and proper to withdraw the bill, in accordance with the Constitution, and request a re-examination to carry out a review of its validity (should it be challenged in court).”The President, after a “thorough examination” of the bill, listed the considerations necessary “to establish the framework and functioning of the Supreme Court of Pakistan”.
