PPP Mulls Curtailing Aggressive Supreme Courts Powers
Islamabad: The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is considering clipping the Supreme Court's talons.
The party is reportedly contemplating a constitutional amendment to curtail the Supreme Court's powers to interpret constitutional issues, and set up a new federal judicial body to deal with such matters. The move to establish a separate Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), however, could exacerbate the executive-judiciary tussle, reports The Express Tribune.
The proposed judicial body is likely to have the same powers as the Supreme Court when it comes to hearing constitutional petitions, like the one that caused the disqualification of Yousuf Raza Gilani.
The proposed amendment to the 1973 Constitution will elaborate the distribution of powers between the apex court and the new judicial body.
The proposal, according to a PPP official, was first floated at a party meeting held the day Gilani was disqualified by the apex court, and some of Zardari 's allies suggested that he take an aggressive stance against what they thought was unacceptable judicial activism, states the paper.
The meeting decided that the PPP would first try to curtail the energy crisis before what may appear an extreme step and spark hostile reaction not only from political opponents but also the legal fraternity.
The PPP and its allies have a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament that is needed to amend the Constitution.
