It is unfortunate to note that the role of the Pakistani
judiciary in maintaining the sanctity of the constitution is been quite
negative. An independent judiciary is said to be one of the pillars of a true
democratic state, in Pakistan this has rarely been the case. The higher
judiciary has a history of validating military coups by signing Provisional
Constitutional Orders (PCO), in other words PCOs are used by military dictators
to suspend the constitution and legalize the removal of civilian govts at the
hand of the military.
The former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhary, responsible for disqualifying
a sitting prime minister on the grounds of not following the constitution, was
also one of the signatories of the PCO of 1999.
Iftikhar Chaudhary also had a reputation of exceeding the
bounds prescribed to him by the Constitution, he was accused of interfering in
the matters of the legislature and the executive. A big manifestation of this
is the large amount Suo Moto cases taken up by the higher court under the
leadership of CJP Chaudhary. Some commentators have even argued that a Judicial
Coup has occurred in Pakistan.
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