Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday criticized the country’s judiciary for “constantly interfering” in political matters, as he questioned the legality of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the reserved seats case.
On July 12, a majority verdict of the apex court ruled in favor of the PTI—who was not party to the case—declaring that it was eligible for a share in reserved seats for women and minorities on the basis of independents. Noting 39 independent candidates had expressed their party affiliation at some point in the nomination process, it granted 41 independent lawmakers 15 days to recant on their joining of the Sunni Ittehad Council and file new affidavits declaring them returned candidates of the PTI. The ruling has proven contentious, with the PPP, PMLN and ECP all seeking a review—though a detailed judgment explaining the legal justification of the ruling is still pending.
Referring to the case, Bhutto-Zardari declared that no one sitting in the Lower House was responsible for the prevailing crisis in the country. “Only the court was and is the reason for the crisis,” he said in a speech on the floor of the House. Emphasizing that the judiciary was “constantly interfering” in the country’s politics, he noted that its “history” was before everyone.
Recalling that the PPP had to fight for decades to secure justice for its martyred leaders—Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto—he regretted that the party founder had not gotten a fair trial. At the same time, he said, the common man had to spend years in pursuit of justice. In the case of the PTI, however, he alleged the court had singlehandedly resurrected a “dead” party through the decision on the party symbol. “The party had no campaign to speak of, but the ruling allowed them to mobilize support,” he claimed, adding the court was solely responsible for the current crisis. He said that despite first banning the PTI’s electoral symbol, the court was now claiming that was not its intent.
Regretting that the court had handed, “like candy,” its verdict in favor of the PTI in the reserved seats case, he maintained the party had not even sought the relief it was granted. “They did not even ask for it and the law and Constitution did not even permit it,” he stressed.
In a series of jibes at the judiciary’s often-outsized role in the country’s administration, Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan’s judiciary was so capable it didn’t just operate courts, but could also build dams, set prices for vegetables and samosas. “No judiciary in the world can compete with them,” he added.
Amidst protests from the opposition, the PPP leader also lamented the rise of politics of hatred in the country. “The political division today did not exist earlier,” he said, stressing the solution was to focus on the plight of the common man rather than internal divisions. He said Pakistanis were carefully watching the situation in Bangladesh, stressing it was essential the state pay attention to the issues of the people.
In his speech, Bhutto-Zardari also praised Olympian Arshad Nadeem for winning the gold medal for javelin throws at the 2024 Paris Olympics.