ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani chief justice’s statement on Saturday about why he is intervening in the executive domain has triggered a debate about whether "judicial activism" is a step toward providing speedy justice in the country.
Saqib Nisar said he did not intend to intervene in the work of the executive, but “was compelled to do so due to the poor state of affairs.”
Sen. Mushahidullah Khan of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said the Supreme Court should focus on clearing its backlog of more than 3 million cases instead of interfering in the executive domain by taking suo motu notices on petty issues.
“The Supreme Court is custodian of the constitution, which doesn’t allow it to try to address issues pertaining to governance in the center and the provinces,” he told Arab News.
The apex court should focus on dispensing timely justice to the people, as this will increase its integrity and respect within society, he added.
“We don’t want to undermine the authority of any institution, including the Supreme Court, but we can’t allow it to usurp executive powers under the garb of judicial activism,” he said.
Khan acknowledged flaws in governance, but said Pakistan’s judiciary is full of “weaknesses.”
He added: “Instead of trying to correct each other, every institution should perform within the parameters of the constitution for the betterment of the country.”
He vowed to introduce judicial reforms to address all these issues if his party retains power following the upcoming general elections.
Habibullah Khan, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, expressed support for its intervention in the work of the executive, saying: “Politicians and Parliament have failed to respond to problems of the common man.”
If all institutions were working to address issues faced by the public, the judiciary would not have been burdened with tens of thousands of cases, he added.
“The Supreme Court’s interference in the work of the executive should be a wakeup call for elected representatives of the people,” he said. “If the executive does not do its job, then other institutions will try to fill the vacuum.”
The constitution also allows the court to take notice of matters that come directly under the ambit of fundamental human rights, Habibullah added.
“Under the constitution, the superior courts can also interfere in public-interest litigation for the provision of speedy justice,” he said.
Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a well-known political analyst, said superior courts worldwide take notice of public issues when governments fail to address them.
“The Supreme Court is not doing anything unusual,” he said. “It is the duty of the court to protect the fundamental rights of the people, and direct the executive to do what is necessary.”
A state cannot survive if both Parliament and the apex court fail to address genuine public grievances, Rais said.
“There should not be a power struggle between the institutions. Rather, they should cooperate with each other to improve the state of affairs,” he added.
Tahir Malik, a public university professor and political analyst, said the government should strengthen institutions, including Parliament, by introducing reforms, which is the only way to address complaints regarding judicial activism.
“Mere political statements and rhetoric for public consumption regarding judicial overreach are going to make no difference,” he said.
“The federal and provincial governments need to improve their governance to counter interference in their work by other institutions.”
Pakistan chief justice sparks debate over ‘judicial activism’
Pakistan chief justice sparks debate over ‘judicial activism’
Nobel laureate Machado says US helped her leave Venezuela, vows return
- Machado emerged on a hotel balcony in Oslo to cheering supporters early Thursday
- “We did get support from the United States government to get here,” Machado said
OSLO: Nobel Peace laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday that the United States helped her get to Norway from hiding in Venezuela, expressing support for US military action against her country and vowing to return home.
Machado, who vanished in January after challenging the rule of President Nicolas Maduro, emerged on a hotel balcony in Oslo to cheering supporters early Thursday after several days of confusion over her whereabouts.
“We did get support from the United States government to get here,” Machado told a press conference when asked by AFP about whether Washington had helped.
The Wall Street Journal reported that she wore a wig and a disguise on the high-risk journey, leaving her hide-out in a Caracas suburb on Monday for a coastal fishing village, where she took a fishing skiff across the Caribbean Sea to Curacao.
The newspaper said the US military was informed to avoid the boat being targeted by airstrikes. Once on the island, she took a private jet to Oslo early on Wednesday.
Machado thanked those who “risked their lives” to get her to Norway but it was not immediately clear how or when she will return to Venezuela, which has said it would consider her a fugitive if she left.
“Of course, the risk of going back, perhaps it’s higher, but it’s always worthwhile. And I’ll be back in Venezuela, I have no doubt,” she added.
Machado has been hailed for her fight for democracy but also criticized for aligning herself with US President Donald Trump, to whom she has dedicated her Nobel, and for inviting foreign intervention in her country.
- Military build-up -
The United States has launched a military build-up in the Caribbean in recent weeks and deadly strikes on what Washington says are drug-smuggling boats.
“I believe every country has the right to defend themselves,” Machado told reporters Thursday.
“I believe that President Trump’s actions have been decisive to reach the point where we are right now, in which the regime is weaker than ever, because the regime previously thought that they could do anything,” she continued.
Late Wednesday, Trump said the United States had seized a “very large” oil tanker near Venezuela, which Caracas denounced as “blatant theft.”
Maduro maintains that US operations are aimed at toppling his government and seizing Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Machado first appeared on a balcony of the Grand Hotel in the middle of the night, waving and blowing kisses to supporters chanting “libertad” (“freedom“) below.
On the ground, she climbed over metal barriers to get closer to her supporters, many of whom hugged her and presented her with rosaries.
She said she has missed much of her children’s lives while hiding, including graduations and weddings.
- ‘ Political risk’ -
Machado won the Peace Prize for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
She has accused Maduro of stealing Venezuela’s July 2024 election, from which she was banned — a claim backed by much of the international community.
She last appeared in public on January 9 in Caracas, where she protested Maduro’s inauguration for his third term.
The decision to leave Venezuela and join the Nobel festivities in Oslo comes at both personal and political risk.
“She risks being arrested if she returns even if the authorities have shown more restraint with her than with many others, because arresting her would have a very strong symbolic value,” said Benedicte Bull, a professor specializing in Latin America at the University of Oslo.
While Machado is the ” undisputed” leader of the opposition, “if she were to stay away in exile for a long time, I think that would change and she would gradually lose political influence,” Bull said.
In her acceptance speech read by one of her daughters Wednesday, Machado denounced kidnappings and torture under Maduro’s tenure, calling them “crimes against humanity” and “state terrorism, deployed to bury the will of the people.”
