A Pakistani-American has moved Supreme Court of Pakistan for the repeal of parliamentary democracy in the country and for the court’s directive to the prime minister to hold a referendum for the introduction of a Presidential form of government in Pakistan.
Currently living in New York, Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chaudhry on Monday filed a Constitutional Petition through Khalid Abbas Khan advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, praying that the “matter in question may kindly be referred to the Prime Minister to hold a referendum in accordance with Article 48(6) of the constitution 1973 to obtain votes in Yes or No form.”
Khalid Abbas Khan, while briefing media, said that the petition has invoked the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the constitution. The petition states that the enormous problems faced by the country and people of the country could only be resolved through the introduction of a presidential form of government in Pakistan.
While making federal and provincial governments respondents, the petition states that parliamentary form of the government is the source of political instability in the country. With the introduction of parliamentary form of government, the people of Pakistan have been deprived of political justice, which has been promised under the provisions of the constitution.
The petition states that under the constitution “the state has to exercise its power through the chosen representatives of the people” and there is no specific provision of the constitution which restricts that the chosen representatives have to be elected under a parliamentary system of government. This could be done under a presidential form of government either. The petition in its content has presented a complete road map of the Presidential form of government, which it argues should be implemented in the country. The petition states that if a society is deprived of political justice there is every chance that it will fail to secure social and economic justice for its people.
