Pak President returns bill curtailing chief justice's powers

Pakistan’s judicial imbroglio intensified on Saturday after President Arif Alvi returned to Parliament for reconsideration of a bill aimed at clipping the powers of the chief justice, saying the proposed legislation is beyond the jurisdiction of the legislative body adding that “the bill prima-facie travels beyond the competence of the Parliament and can be assailed as a colourable legislation”. Alvi furthered that the SC was “an independent institution as visualized by the founding fathers that in the State of Pakistan ‘independence of judiciary shall be fully secured’'.

The bill was approved by both houses of the parliament last month and sent to the president for assent amid a deepening political and constitutional crisis in the country over elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. After Alvi's refusal to assent to the legislation, the government is likely to get through this bill from a joint session of the parliament.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman slammed Arif Alvi for returning the bill, saying it proved that he is not the president of the country but is still the secretary general of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He has seen every decision of the parliament from PTI's point of view. Rehman said. 

Pakistan is witnessing a rift between the judiciary and the government after a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Uma Ata Bandial on Tuesday fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab Assembly and quashed the Election Commission's decision to extend the date of the poll from April 10 to October 8.

The apex court's verdict was criticised by the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, which has refused to accept it. The government also is keen to curb the suo moto (on its own) powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Bandial.