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Senators alarmed by ‘judicial interference’ in parliamentary affairs

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ISLAMABAD: In a rare move, the attorney gereneral for Pakistan (AGP) has been summoned to appear before the Senate, after lawmakers from both sides of the aisle raised concerns on Friday about alleged interference in House by judiciary, with some senators demanded immediate appearance of principal law officer in the lower house.

The issue was raised by former deputy chairman Senate and PPP leader Saleem Mandviwalla while Senator Shahadat Awan, also from PPP, was presiding over the session. Mr Mandviwalla voiced concern the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Lahore High Court (LHC) had recently issued stay orders against proceedings of the Senate standing committees.

He said that throughout his legislative career, he had never witnessed such interference work of committees, which are extension of parliament.

Terming the development ‘alarming’, Mr Mandviwalla urged the chair to summon the attorney general and demand a serious expla­nation. “We have never interfered in court proceedings,” he remarked.

While acknowledging that the Constitution and rules do not bar parliament or its committees from discussing sub judice matters, he said such discussions are generally avoided out of respect for the judiciary. However, in this instance, he noted, stay orders were issued despite the absence of any pending court cases.

“This is direct interference in the functioning and proceedings of parliamentary committees. The Attorney General must be summoned and asked what kind of joke this is,” he added.

When Mr Awan pointed out that the law minister was not present and suggested referring the matter to the attorney general via the secretariat for review of the case records, Mr Mandviwalla insisted that the attorney general, not the law minister, was the relevant authority.

Amid uproar with demands for immediate summoning of the attorney general, Mr Awan agreed to issue a notice to him to address the reservations of the House. “Let the Attorney General come to the House and brief it on the facts so that appropriate legal action can be taken,” he said.

However, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry proposed that the attorney general be called to the Senate chairman’s chamber.

Violation of Article 69

Referring to Article 69(1) of the Constitution, PPP Senator Zameer Ghumro said, “The validity of any proceedings in Majlis-i-Shoora (Parliament) shall not be called in question on the ground of any irregularity of procedure.” He criticised the stay orders as violations of the separation of powers principle.

“Have we ever interfered in the working of any institution?” he asked.

Senator Dilawar Khan said the parliament was supreme and there was no justification for any instruction to meddle in its affairs.

PTI senator Saifullah Abro criticised Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar over passage of controversial amendments meant to make judiciary a “toothless body” and demanded that the attorney general be immediately summoned in the House.

JUI-F senator Kamran Murtaza also deplored the interference of judiciary in the matters of parliament and said displeasure should be conveyed to the judiciary.

Under Article 57 of the Constitution, the attorney general has the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of either House, or a joint sitting. It, however, remains a question if the attorney general would make a rare appearance before the House or not. Sources in the Senate said the secretariat would send verbatim of the proceedings to him and sought a report, which would then be placed before the Senate chairman who would then decide future course of action.

Resolution on Palestine

Separately, the Senate also unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Israeli parliament’s decision to assert sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

The resolution was moved in the House by Senator Palwasha Khan, terming the Israeli parliament’s resolution illegal, illegitimate, and null and void under international law, United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the Geneva Conventions.

Allegations against ex-minister

A contentious issue cropped up during Question Hour, when Dr Chaudhry, the minister for parliamentary affairs, claimed a former finance minister had increased the allocation for BISP Nashounuma Programme to around Rs 20 billion at a time when a company owned by him was the sole supplier of specialised nutritional food under the programme.

Mr Chaudhry claimed the company owned by Miftah Ismail was awarded the contract without following the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and food valuing Rs97bn had been procured.

He also claimed that no competitive bidding process, which is required under PPRA regulations, was undertaken at the time.

While senators questioned why no action was taken earlier, the presiding officer, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, referred the matter to a Senate standing committee for consideration.

Later, In a post on X, Mr Ismail challenged his former PML-N colleague, Dr Chaudhry, to bring present evidence for his claims and proceed against him in NAB or FIA.

“Ismail Industries has been supplying the World Food Program (WFP) for over twenty years. The BISP programme was started before I became a minister and continued after I left and continues to this day,” said Mr Ismail.

“Every packet that WFP buys from us is according to an international tender under UN protocols and guidelines and we supply to WFP at the same rate globally. Besides Pakistan we supply to many other countries.,” the former finance minister wrote.

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