Its All About Pakistan

26/10/07 ISLAMABAD, The Supreme Court is a constitutional and not a revolutionary forum, Justice Javed Iqbal, heading an 11-member bench of the apex court, observed on Thursday during proceedings of various constitutional petitions filed by Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed and Makhdoom Amin Fahim and others against the candidacy/eligibility of the president for the next term as well as holding of two offices.

Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday observed that the courts were here to stop revolutions as the purpose of the court was to aid the government to avoid revolutions.

The courts are not the enemies of the government, but they are here to complement all organs of the state to ensure progression. We are sitting here to stop revolution and to interfere in legal and moral issues and cannot leave it to the people, Justice Ramday remarked and added that examples of revolutions in various countries were in front of us. Have they proved good? Justice Ramday questioned.

Earlier, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel for Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed, concluded his arguments when the 11-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Javed Iqbal resumed the hearing.

Other members of the bench include Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice M Javed Buttar, Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jilani, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Chaudhry Aijaz Ahmed, Justice Syed Jamshed Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani.

Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, while continuing his arguments, contended that the present assemblies were elected in 2002 and their term would expire on November 15 this year. He contended that the outgoing assemblies were incompetent electorate to elect the president for the next term as election to the office of the president mentioned in clause 7 of Article 41 had to take place after the expiry of his term of five years.

At this, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar said it was not a political question. Aitzaz, however, stressed how could the learned judge say that it was not a political question as the court had held in the Qazi Hussain Ahmed case that all political matters could be brought before the court. History has been written in this regard and it is purely a political question, Ahsan reiterated.

Justice Javed Iqbal said that according to him (Aitzaz) the tenure of the present assemblies would expire on November 15 this year, then was it not the responsibility of the outgoing assemblies to ask the president that they could not elect him for the office of the president for the next term.

You are right, but the court has to look into the moral and legal aspects and the court cannot move away from this, Ahsan replied. At this, A K Dogar, the counsel for the Pakistan Lawyers Forum, rose and said wrong decisions gave birth to revolutions.

Chaudhry Aitzaz contended that the apex court in the Pir Sabir Shah case held that articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution ran together and the person who did not fulfill conditions given in these articles could not contest election for the president or an MNA.

In this respect, Ahsan referred to the recent judgment of Justice Falak Sher in the petition of Jamaat-e-Islami and said that the honorable judge was of the view that articles 62 and 63 would apply to the presidential candidate.

Referring to article 63(1)(d), Ch Aitzaz Ahsan submitted that under this clause, a civil office could be exempted to contest election, but the Army office could not be exempted in any way. Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing till Monday.