Legal Expert Salman Akram Raja opens up on assembly dissolution and elections

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00:00 We will take a general look at the issue. We have with us Advocate Salman Akram Raja

00:03 and in a while we will have with us Ashutosh Saab, who is a former Attorney General of Pakistan.

00:07 Salman Raja sahib, the decision that has been presented today,

00:10 in the context of the upcoming elections, it is very important that

00:14 the election commission's character has been pointed out that

00:19 Mukandana should not have been bowed down.

00:21 That is, the autonomy has also been questioned in this regard.

00:25 How do you interpret this decision?

00:28 This is an absolutely correct decision and there is nothing surprising in it.

00:32 This was the situation.

00:34 I went to the Supreme Court in which the decision was made on 1st March.

00:39 The President of the country was a lawyer in this case.

00:41 And this is what we discussed that the date of the election,

00:44 the final date, the law itself determines it.

00:48 90th day is the election day.

00:50 That is, the election has to be held within 90 days.

00:53 To that extent, a date can be determined that it will be after 80 days or 82 days.

00:59 But you cannot go beyond 90 days.

01:01 You cannot define this date beyond 90 days in any case.

01:05 And the position of the Election Commission, the position of the government,

01:08 all this was a mixture, whose purpose was to reduce the legal requirement.

01:14 There is no doubt about this, neither at that time nor now.

01:17 Therefore, the law was reduced.

01:20 Now, many of our friends who are unfortunately Mubassir,

01:23 who are called law-abiding people, have become a part of this.

01:26 They came and started presenting their amendments in the media and newspapers.

01:30 You have mentioned what was the position of Irfan Qadir Sahib.

01:33 Ashutosh Sahib will also come in the program.

01:35 At that time, we had many dialogues in the court in many programs.

01:39 My position was that this is a game with the constitution, it is a joke.

01:43 90 days is the right of the people, it is not the right of any political party.

01:47 Our constitution requires that every province's people get an elected government.

01:52 And the dissolution of the assembly is a political action.

01:55 A minister, no matter how he does it,

01:59 has no connection with the fact that he has accepted the order of his party head

02:03 or it was his own wish.

02:05 When he dissolved the assembly, what was the situation in front of Purvez Ilai?

02:10 He was saved from a vote of no confidence.

02:13 He said that he would go back to his people, to the people of the province.

02:17 He would give them a chance to elect an assembly and a government.

02:21 How could anyone get in the way of this?

02:23 How could anyone ask what is the reason for this political decision?

02:27 When Zia-ul-Haq took the power in his hands,

02:30 then the Supreme Court said that we will see the dictator's power.

02:34 Here, if the assembly is the head of an elected government,

02:38 then in my opinion, it is a political action.

02:41 No court should interfere in this.

02:44 But enforcing the requirements of the Election Commission and the Constitution

02:50 is definitely the duty of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

02:53 But sir, we saw that there was a lot of polarization at that time.

02:57 Because of that, there was a division.

02:59 From the formation of the bench in the court,

03:03 to how to approach the case, to the entire strategy.

03:08 So, the government could not implement the decision.

03:11 But the questions about the role of the Election Commission in this detailed decision,

03:16 now that we have to go to the general elections.

03:19 There are many things that have been pointed out.

03:22 For example, the power of veto will be given to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

03:26 It seems that the Vami representative has strengthened the Election Commission of Pakistan by bringing more legislation.

03:32 And the correctional measures have been further empowered.

03:38 So, what are you seeing in the next election?

03:41 In the context of this case, what role can be played?

03:44 Look, the Election Commission has a fundamental role in getting elections done.

03:49 But that role is under the constitution.

03:52 The limits set by the constitution, the Election Commission cannot go beyond that.

03:56 But within those limits, the Election Commission is an authority.

04:01 It is the authority of every party, the government, the parliament.

04:05 The Parliament cannot tell the Election Commission that we will not give you the money you need to get the elections done.

04:11 If this interpretation is accepted, then wherever there is a need for money in the constitution,

04:16 to carry out any constitutional action, the parliament should be absent, should be absent.

04:21 The government should not give money to the government.

04:23 Many of our friends have argued at that time that the parliament has the right not to give money.

04:28 That argument was there then and still is.

04:31 So, the strengthening of the Election Commission is one thing.

04:35 But the Election Commission is under the constitution of Pakistan.

04:38 The limits set by the constitution, the Election Commission cannot go beyond that.

04:42 Ashutosh, and clearly, I have joined during this time. Thank you very much Ashutosh for joining.

04:47 Now sir, the problem is that the new general election is expected to be held all across the country.

04:55 It is going to be held in 60 days or in 90 days.

04:58 But there is always a political debate in Pakistan about it.

05:01 Will the caretaker set up be extended?

05:05 Because we have this precedent of KP, Punjab, that when the Election Commission did not agree to the elections,

05:12 then they did not happen.

05:14 So, we have set an example and now the only threat is that the general elections that are going to be held across the country,

05:20 this decision should be made as the basis and delayed in that too. This is a very serious concern.

05:25 Yes, the concerns are not only about this, there are many other concerns as well.

05:31 Yes, Ashutosh sir.

05:39 Yes, are those concerns being addressed properly?

05:43 Are the matters going in the direction that we have free and fair elections?

05:50 Will they be in accordance with the law and the constitution?

05:53 So, to fulfil the requirements in the law and the constitution, there are five basic things.

05:59 One is that the role of the Election Commission in the constitution,

06:04 its role and its empowerment is very important.

06:12 The Election Commission is a legal institution and legal institutions are not subject to each other.

06:18 The Election Commission is not subject to the Supreme Court, it is not subject to the High Court.

06:24 It is an institution in which some work has been given.

06:28 And if that work is not done properly, then its compensation will be done by the Parliament,

06:35 it will be done by the people and if there are any procedural irregularities in it,

06:42 then its compensation can be done by the court.

06:45 But issuing a writ and talking about such things are not appropriate in my opinion.

06:51 The second aspect is financial.

06:54 And the control over finances is the work of the Parliament.

06:58 It has to do the expenditures and when these expenditures are finalised,

07:05 then there will be no issue of any kind.

07:09 The third aspect is the control over the people.

07:11 And the control over the people is according to your population.

07:16 And what is its requirement?

07:18 That a particular set of population, a particular number of people,

07:23 get representation in the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly.

07:27 So now the census results have shown that our population has increased.

07:31 We will have to keep this in mind that people do not feel that their right to representation is not justified.

07:44 The fourth aspect is that there are security issues in this.

07:48 And security is not just about internal security, there are also issues of external security.

07:56 And you have seen that there have been such situations in the past where you had to see these matters.

08:04 And we cannot talk about all these things on television.

08:07 But these are big issues.

08:10 And the last thing is that the elections are now finalised.

08:17 The National Assembly is also being held.

08:23 So when the elections are held, it will be a good thing.

08:29 And I see good results of it.

08:34 The last thing I would like to say is that...

08:38 Sir, good results...

08:39 Yes, please complete.

08:42 We should not say bad things about the institutions that we have established for our own selfishness and satisfaction.

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