With bad governance, corruption and judicial defiance having virtually become the order of the day, the country has, for quite some time, been rife with rumours that an unconstitutional move to topple the present political order is just around the corner. While this might have pleased those sections of society that have become completely disillusioned with the wayward manner democracy in the country has been functioning, the speculations of political upheaval have created a feeling of trepidation of what might lie ahead among democracy-lovers. The media, both electronic and written, has, of late, been voicing the sentiments of both the sides.
Against this background of gloomy expectations, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s remark that the judiciary would be the first to defend against any such act of adventurism has come as a breath of fresh air for all those whom several bouts of autocratic rule have made wiser. They are convinced, as Justice Chaudhry appears to be, that democracy carries within itself a corrective mechanism of periodic recourse to public mandate that discards rulers who fail to deliver. The CJ, who was addressing on the occasion of a dinner hosted by the Balochistan Bar Council on Thursday, expressed the determination that no judge would take oath of office in case an unconstitutional adventurism occurred. He also reminded the government and its supporters that the “judiciary has been entrusted with the power to adjudge the validity of the legislative and executive actions on the touchstone of the Constitution.” That should put at rest incantational rhetoric about the supremacy of Parliament. The Chief Justice specifically talked of the supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law, adding that it demanded that all organs of the state functioned within their prescribed and well-settled limits as provided by the Constitution and law. And, as he had taken oath to administer justice, he would do so treating all and sundry equal before law.
It is fortunate that the present military hierarchy has, on more than one occasion, publicly abjured any intention of stepping in the political arena. And now that the Chief Justice has also spoken, it is time these apprehensions were quietly buried. But that also demands of the ruling leadership to set their compass in the right direction and not only start implementing the court verdicts, but also set their house in order by cleaning the mess of corruption and misgovernance and attending to the myriad of problems the people are facing.