Parliamentary tweaks unchallengeable in any court, says Siddiqui amid reserved seats row

• Constitution created you [judiciary] and not vice-versa: Siddiqui.
• Claims MPs who submitted affidavits ‘constitutionally caged’.
• Says writing Constitution parliament's prerogative. 

Following the Supreme Court’s detailed verdict in the reserved seats case — deemed a major win for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the discord between the government and the judiciary continues, with Senator Irfan Siddiqui saying that "amendments made by the parliament cannot be challenged in any court."

“Constitution created you [judiciary] and not vice-versa,” the Senator said while addressing a press conference on Wednesday, questioning the September 23 judgment, wherein the former ruling party was declared eligible for reserved seats in assemblies.

The reserved seats verdict dealt a major blow to the ruling coalition led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as it lost the two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament, which was crucial for the passage of a constitutional amendment, prompting the incumbents to intervene in the judicial procedure.

In its 70-page detailed judgment, the apex court termed the PTI "a political party" and eligible for the seats' quota. It stressed that the lack of an electoral symbol does not affect its constitutional right to take part in elections.

The PTI is a political party and won seats in the national and provincial legislatures in the general elections, the court remarked, while directing the country's top electoral body to notify the former ruling party's members on the reserved seats.

"The ECP's March 1 decision is contradictory to the Constitution and has no legal value," the apex court said while referring to the body's decision wherein it had declined the Sunni Ittehad Council's (SIC) plea for allocation of reserved seats and had instead decided to give them to other political parties on the principle of proportional representation.

Reacting to the detailed judgment, Siddiqui said that questions were being raised on the reserved seats verdict, which he said, should be removed without any “political divisiveness”.

“Every day a law is abolished by saying that it conflicted with the Constitution [of Pakistan].”

“If parliament makes a mistake, the judiciary corrects it, but if the latter rules against the Constitution then who will fix it,” he questioned.

Referring to PTI-backed lawmakers, the senator further said that those who submitted the affidavits of allegiance to SIC were now locked in the ‘constitutional cage’.

When the Constitution binds independent lawmakers to join ‘any political party’ within three days, then how the apex court granted them 15 days, he noted.

“What gives you [judiciary] such an authority […] and if you have taken the authority then it is wrong,” he added.

The PML-N leader pointed out that senior judges of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) ruled that "the reserved seats cannot be allocated to the SIC."

"To date, none of the lawmakers, who joined the religio-political party expressed a desire to change their party,” he said.

He regretted that the courts did not stand up against any martial laws imposed in the country, adding that many clauses of the Constitution were paralysed after the judiciary exceeded its limits.

“The Constitution clearly states that the amendments made by the parliament cannot be challenged in any court,” he said, adding it also states that the Majlis-e-Shura had “no limits” in the authority.

He asked the judiciary not to write the Constitution as it was the “parliament’s prerogative”.

Speaking of the constitutional package, the senator rejected the notion of ‘enslaving judiciary’ and said that the government wanted to bring constitutional court and implement the ‘unfinished agenda’ of the Charter of Democracy (COD).

Siddiqui also castigated PTI founder Imran Khan for ‘voicing support for Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’, saying that the incarcerated politician was involved in crimes.

“We respect Justice Shah […] why you [Khan] are stigmatising him with your favouritism,” he said, asking the PTI founder not to drag individuals into politics like this.

Earlier this month, the PML-N government and its allies made a frantic attempt to push a controversial constitutional package through parliament but failed as it lacked a two-thirds majority.

The package came amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, who is set to retire in October this year.