Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that lawmakers can vote independently of their parties on key issues, allowing parliamentary horse-trading as the government tries to muster support for constitutional reform.
Elections held in February were marred by allegations of rigging, favoring Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who heads a shaky coalition that lacks the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the constitution.
He reportedly plans to give the executive more power over the judiciary, where dozens of cases are pending against jailed opposition leader Imran Khan.
Thursday’s decision allows his government to pressure individual MPs for votes and pressure MPs loyal to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for their support.
“This clears the way for them to seek a constitutional amendment,” political analyst Zahid Hussain told AFP. “This is also being used by the ruling party to weaken PTI.”
A 2022 Supreme Court ruling says lawmakers who cross the aisle will be given immunity on key votes, including constitutional amendments, no-confidence votes and the election of prime ministers.
However, Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa told the court that Thursday’s verdict “unanimously” overturned that decision, adding that a detailed verdict would be issued later.
Opposition parties say the amendments proposed by the Sharif government would create a new court to rule on the constitution, whose chief justice would be chosen by the prime minister.
The Supreme Court and other Pakistani tribunals will be grateful for the decisions of the new court.
PTI lawyer Ali Zafar said, “This constitutional amendment will not only weaken the judiciary but will also weaken democracy and the Constitution.”
Khan was barred from contesting the February election and jailed on charges he says are politically motivated.
Candidates loyal to the former international cricket star became the largest faction in parliament after that election, but fell short of the majority needed to govern.
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party signed a pact to govern with other parties considered close to the powerful military establishment.
However, PTI has been a vocal opposition force, regularly holding street protests and criticizing the government in Parliament.
Khan has seen his cases involving multiple charges of corruption ping-pong through various courts, including one where he is accused of being openly threatened by state intelligence agencies.
The 71-year-old man has been jailed for more than a year and PTI has called for fresh protests in the capital Islamabad on Friday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
