Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial says a purely political impasse does not have legal solutions n Asks state organs to play role to uphold rule of law, supremacy of Constitution.
ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial Friday said that a purely political impasse does not have legal solutions and can only be resolved through dialogue between political leaders and their parties. The CJP said this while addressing a two-day 9th International Judicial Conference organized by Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), under the auspices of National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) at the Supreme Court building. The theme of the Conference centres around 75 years of Independence of Pakistan titled “Administration of Justice: 75 Years - Reflecting on the past and Looking Towards the Future”. In his address, the CJP said that the judiciary has no role to break a political deadlock, and like other citizens, it is our sincere hope that the political leadership of the country shall take necessary corrective steps and confidence building measures with national interest as their foremost consideration. He said that regardless of the efforts of the court to strengthen democracy in the country, progress can only be made if all political parties come together to follow the established democratic practices and perform their respective roles in the parliament under the Constitution. Justice Bandial urged upon the legislature, the executive, and other state organs to play their role to uphold rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution, as the judiciary alone cannot pursue these ideals singlehandedly. The CJP said that apart from enforcing the fundamental rights of marginalized segments of the society, the apex court has also delivered landmark judgments to reinforce other dimensions of rule of law. In this respect, the court has come a long way to become a champion for the cause of democracy in the country by burying the doctrine of necessity which in the past had been resorted to justify the imposition of martial law.
