Supreme Court Seeks Attorney General’s Assistance on How Federal Constitutional Court Can Hear Founding PTI Chairman’s Hospital Case
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan have asked the Attorney-General to advise them with regards to the jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional Court to hear the pending case on the transfer of the founding chairman of the PTI to a hospital.
The hearing was presided over by Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, who also presided over the hearing. In the course of the proceedings, the bench members raised key question on the recently issued order of the Constitutional Court with regard to paragraph 6 of the order.
What are the limits of the adherence to the Supreme Court’s questions?What are the boundaries of the Supreme Court adherence answers?
Another Attorney General, Rana Asad, told the court that a day earlier the Federal Constitutional Court issued such an order and sought the record of the case. However, Justice Shahid Waheed pointed out that the court’s order of 18 August had called upon the government officials to appear before the court, but had not appeared before it, raising the question, in his mind, if their failure to appear was a case of non-compliance.
Let’s set aside for the moment the treatment is in a government or private hospital, is the rest of our order being carried out? Have meetings/phone calls with his children been facilitated? Attorney General Usman Mansoor Awan replied this order of the Supreme Court continues to be valid and in force. Justice Shahid Waheed said there seemed to be a communication failure or lack of institutional deference.
When asked about the possibility of overlapping jurisdictions, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan said, “God forbid, we do not want a clash between two institutions. Both institutions have to operate within their own jurisdiction, Article 175E of the Constitution has said so far.
Defense Arguments and Adjournment of the meeting.
The criminal appeal and contempt petitions filed by the founding chairman of the PTI have no need of ‘complex constitutional interpretation,’ counsel Salman Akram Raja said. He also said the jailed leader had been granted just one meeting with his sister and would help the court on the legal aspects of Article 175E and other angles.
The Supreme Court gave the Attorney General time to provide more legal assistance, and postponed the hearing for three weeks.