Dhaka Times Desk The current government of Pakistan has taken a new strategy. This new strategy is to escape from the hands of the court. But what will save their end?
In recent times, Pakistan's existing contempt of court law has heated up the country's political scene. The top leaders of the ruling political party have been caught by the supreme power of this law. The law set a precedent in Pakistan's political history due to the rift between the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the country's Supreme Court. It should be noted that even though the country has gone through various political ups and downs since its birth, no one had to leave the Prime Ministership due to contempt of court before Yusuf Raja Gilani. Moreover, the way this law has been imposed on President Asif Ali Zardari as the highest authority of the country is rare in the history of Pakistan. For these reasons, it becomes necessary for the government to take measures to reform the law to protect itself. Finally the Pakistan government did that. On July 9, the lower house of the Pakistan Parliament passed the amended Contempt of Court Bill. This new law was passed hastily so that the angry court could not interfere with the government. The amended bill has 13 articles. One of the clauses is that the permission of the government must be taken to file contempt of court charges against the executive officers of the government. As a result, the Supreme Court will not be able to directly charge the Prime Minister with contempt of court.
After the bill was passed in the lower house of the parliament, the country's opposition parties and people from all walks of life criticized the government's initiative. On July 9, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Farooq H Naik tabled the bill in Parliament, followed by a brief discussion on it. Members of Pakistan's main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and other political parties strongly opposed the bill while participating in the discussion on the proposed bill. The opposition called the bill a 'black law' and rejected the bill. But the criticism and opposition of the opposition parties could not play a role in passing the bill. Because the PPP has a single majority in the 342 seats of the Parliament. As a result, the bill was easily passed by voice vote.
Meanwhile, the approval of the upper house of parliament is required for the bill to become a law. After this approval it will again be sent for the assent signature of the President. It is known that he will not delay in signing the law that will save the President. But many believe that the bill may need to gain some momentum to get approved in the Senate. In this case too, as the supporters of the government are more, it is expected to get the approval of the upper house within a day or two. If this process goes well, the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 in force in the country will be abolished. It is to be noted that in 2003, the Supreme Court declared Yusuf Raza Gilani ineligible for the post of Prime Minister in the form of an ordinance.
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