Courts couldn’t order parliament to make special legislation: AGP
ISLAMABAD: Atorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan has said that courts could not order parliament to make specific legislation.
He made the remarks while appearing before a three-member Federal Sharia Court (FSC) bench headed by Chief Justice Noor Muhammad Meskanzai which heard a number of constitutional petitions filed against the interest-based financial system.
At the outset, the Quranic verses against interest were recited with translation in the courtroom, following which the chief justice sought the details of steps taken against the interest-based system in the last 15 years.
Javed Khan told the court that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had not yet provided details. He said that in 2001, the FSC had ordered the parliament for legislation over the mater. He said the court could not order the legislature for specific legislation and argued it was the responsibility of the state to legislate in accordance with Islamic principles.
However, Justice Syed Anwar questioned why the state was reluctant to legislate according to Islamic law. “Why is SBP using delaying tactics?” he asked and pointed out that Khan’s arguments were devoid of any reference to Islamic law and lacked the backing of any Quranic injunction.
In his response, the AGP said that since he was not an expert in Islamic jurisprudence, his arguments would be only predicated on the constitutional purview.
“Only government has the authority to declare interest illegal,” the atorney general emphasised, adding that the only problem was regarding the method of fulfilling the responsibility.
Amicus curiae Babar Awan in his arguments stated that only the sharia court could review whether the law was according to Islamic laws or not. No court other than the sharia court could hear this case, he added.
Jadhav issue: Meanwhile, Javed has asked the opposition parties to refrain from politicising the Kulbhushan Jadhav, Indian spy, issue. In a joint siting of parliament, a bill was passed to grant Jadhav the right to appeal as per the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).