Bad optics for sure

Justice Qazi Faez Isa has claimed that he is a defender of the Constitution and if he failed to defend the charter, people have a right to critique him. Addressing a special session at the National Assembly in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Constitution, the Supreme Court judge noted that the country’s charter gave people the freedom of speech, press, and assembly. According to him, the Supreme Court and its judges are the defenders of the Constitution, as they have taken the oath to protect and uphold the national charter. Justice Isa also deliberated on the role of the three pillars of the state and the maintenance of a balance in their functioning and jurisdictions. Justice Esa stressed the parliament and the bureaucracy serve the people. The Judge claimed to be impartial to the political discussion at the house and does not want anyone to misconstrue his presence at the session.

The 1973 Constitution of the Country completed its golden jubilee on Monday and the entire Pakistani nation observed this special occasion with passion and soberness. Both houses of the parliament held a joint session to jubilate this landmark success in the parliamentary history of the country, while the intellectual circle, constitutional experts, civil society, and human rights defenders remained apprehensive about the conduct of the government leaders, and three pillars of the state including the Parliament, executive, and judiciary regarding the implementation and prestige of the charter over the past five decades, particularly in the current scenario in the country.

Historically, all three pillars of the state could not uphold the constitutional responsibility and the law was sabotaged by its creators just months after its creation. In contrast, multiple provisions had been added in the charter in the following years to cover the unlawful actions of the dictators that blatantly hurt the true spirit of democracy and defaced the soul of the Constitution. However, no adjudicator dares to raise his voice in the defense of the Constitution until or unless his position/ career faced an imminent risk. As the nation is all set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Country’s constitution, the public leaders started issuing congratulatory statements, making phrasal demonstrations to express their law abidance to steal the show, whereas the ongoing political tussle and constitutional crisis is a slap on the face of such pro-democracy leaders as well as so-called constitution defenders. The ridiculous behavior and mockery of the leaders badly undermined the rule of law and caused clashes between various institutions of the country.

Apparently, the questionable conduct and selective use of constitutional provisions by the politicians, civilian and military bureaucrats seriously damaged the Constitution, meanwhile, judges’ theory of necessity, self-motivated appreciation of the situation, and biased explanation of the law proved to be disastrous for the national framework and caused public frustration and distrust in the system. The recent session of the parliament and attendance by a judge of the Supreme Court amid ongoing government-judiciary tussle and executive efforts to unarm/control the judiciary did not send a good message to the public and the global community. Parliamentarians’ verbal attacks against the judiciary and self-proclamation regarding the preservation of the law exposed their bias, whereas the absence of the Chief Judge and members of the Judicial Commission raised doubts regarding the presence of a lone adjudicator.

Realistically, the intra-bench division and rivalry among the judges seriously damage the institution and exposed the degradation of the judiciary and the moral decay and self-esteem of the magistrates. In fact, a lack of discipline, absence of self-esteem, and no accountability of judges not only foiled justice but also collapsed the core judicial system in the country. In fact, every influential seeks his own choice of law, judge, and justice. After all, until and unless the Judges themselves envision the true spirit of the constitution no one else could guarantee the sovereignty of the constitution in the land of Pakistan.