Sitting Panel: Sh. Riaz Ahmed, C.J., Munir A. Sheikh, Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Qazi Muhammad Farooq, JJ

Summary:

The Supreme Court dismissed a constitutional petition filed by Watan Party, challenging the amendments made to the Constitution of Pakistan (1973) through the Schedule to the Legal Framework Order (LFO), 2002. The petitioner contended that the LFO violated the Supreme Court’s judgment in Syed Zafar Ali Shah’s case (PLD 2000 SC 869) by introducing extensive amendments beyond the Chief Executive’s authorized powers and by altering the salient features of the Constitution, such as parliamentary democracy and federalism. The petition also argued against the reincorporation of Article 58(2)(b) and the establishment of the National Security Council, claiming these undermined parliamentary supremacy and created unchecked presidential powers.

The Court primarily dismissed the petition on the ground that the petitioner, Watan Party, lacked “locus standi” to invoke the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. The Court found that Watan Party failed to demonstrate that the issues raised constituted a question of “public importance” with reference to the enforcement of Fundamental Rights, as required for such petitions, and that the party itself lacked proper registration and representation. The Supreme Court reiterated its previous validation of the extra-constitutional steps taken by the Chief Executive based on the doctrine of State necessity and clarified that the procedure for amending the Constitution under Article 239 remained with the Parliament. The Court emphasized that the Parliament, once elected, would be the appropriate forum to consider the challenged amendments.

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