ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday held that the country was in grip of a “new form of dictatorship”, demanding the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to immediately announce the date of general elections.
Bilawal made these remarks during an event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Constitution. He lauded the SCBA’s role in upholding the Constitution, emphasising that it serves as an instrumental safeguard for democratic principles and the protection of human rights.
When the dictators abrogated the Constitution in the past, the judiciary upheld this abrogation sometimes in the name of the ‘doctrine of successful revolution’ and sometimes in the name of the ‘doctrine of necessity’, said the PPP chief.
“One felt as if the soul of the state had been torn by those very luminaires who were supposed to protect and defend it,” he remarked. Chairman Bilawal said that he would not like to dwell more on it, as they say, “Forget the past, arrange for the present and face the future”.
Those who abrogated the Constitution and ridiculed it as merely a 15-page document and those who upheld the abrogation not only disgraced themselves but also heaped disgrace on the people and our nation, he maintained. “They are the traitors of the nation and history will always remember them with this title. This is why it is important to safeguard the Constitution and relentlessly pursue those who have subverted it,” Bilawal emphatically added in his keynote speech.
However, the PPP chairman also commended a recent decision by the Supreme Court, in which it upheld the (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023—a law enacted by parliament aimed at curbing the unilateral authority of the chief justice to determine benches and unilaterally initiate suo motu proceedings on matters of public significance without consulting other judges.
In a related context, Bilawal lamented that politicians frequently find themselves subject to judicial accountability.
He expressed hope that the apex court’s validation of this legislation signaled the possibility of across the board accountability. He suggested that judges should also be prepared to face scrutiny and be held accountable.
During his address, Bilawal underscored the foundational principles of the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution. He emphasised that every state institution was bound to follow the Constitution, adding that any postponement of elections would essentially equate to a denial of elections.
Bilawal made it clear that the Pakistan Peoples Party stands as a staunch advocate of democracy and maintained that their demand for timely elections was a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan.
