Islamabad, Sep 24 (PTI) Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Tuesday pushed for the creation of the country’s first-ever constitutional court to reduce disparities among the provinces and minimise the burden of cases of the apex court.
Addressing a gathering of lawyers at the Sindh High Court, Bilawal said that a constitutional amendment to set up such a court could not be presented in Parliament due to lack of support from the opposition.
“If we want to strengthen this judicial system, want that our citizens are given speedy justice and that there is no longer any disparity between the provinces, which is the most important thing, then an FCC is a necessity and a need,” he said.
Bilawal, the former foreign minister, highlighted that a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) would play a crucial role in ensuring equitable governance and resolving inter-provincial differences.
He said when his party demanded that an FCC be formed, it also stressed that equal provincial representation would be required, with its chief justice on rotation, allowing every provincial representative to have their turn at the position.
Stressing the need for constitutional courts, he said only 15 per cent of the Supreme Court’s cases were constitutional, “yet these occupy 90pc of [the court’s] time”.
“We will make the FCC as we decided in the past and it will look at issues of the Constitution and political cases,” he said.
Bilawal said his call for this judicial reform underscores his commitment to strengthening the constitutional framework and promoting unity across the nation. “The judicial reforms would be undertaken in line with the Charter of Democracy (COD) come what may,” he said.
The COD was signed between former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto when military dictator Pervez Musharaf ruled the country. It aimed to restore democracy in the country.
He also slammed past periods of authoritarian rule in Pakistan, saying the judges permitted amendments to the constitution, granting excessive power to dictators. He said his party has always stood with the legal community and its role in shaping the constitution over three generations.
He credited the 1973 constitution, framed by his grandfather Zulfiqar Ai Bhutto, with maintaining Pakistan’s unity and strength.
Earlier, the efforts of the coalition government, of which the PPP is a part, to create the constitutional court failed when it could not muster up a two-thirds majority to amend the constitution to set up the court.
However, Bilawal had announced that his party would continue working on this issue. PTI SH ZH ZH
