C ommo nwe a l t h memb e r c o u n t r i e s Judicial system Supreme court: Supreme Court of Pakistan Ministry: Law, Justice and Human Rights The Supreme Court is both the final court of appeal and the constitutional court. It is presided over by the chief justice. The Federal Shariat Court was established in 1980 to scrutinise the laws and ensure that they accord with Islamic values. The High Court is based in Islamabad and has divisions in each province. Appeals from the lower courts are heard in the High Court. The lower courts, the district and sessions courts, have jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases. Sessions courts also are trial courts for the most serious offences. There are magistrates courts in cities and towns throughout the country, and all but the most serious cases (for example, where the death penalty applies) come before these courts in the first instance. There are a number of other courts and tribunals specialising, for example, in corruption cases, narcotics offences, financial crimes, consumer rights and industrial relations. Government and politics Last elections: 11 May 2013 (legislative), 30 July 2013 (presidential) Next elections: 2018 (legislative, presidential) Head of state: President Mamnoon Hussain Head of government: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Ruling party: Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Women MPs: 21% In June 2001 Army Chief of Staff General Pervez Musharraf – who had led a military government since October 1999 – dissolved parliament and the four provincial legislatures; President Rafiq Tarar resigned; and Musharraf became President. A referendum held in April 2002 confirmed Musharraf’s position as President for a period of five years. National Assembly elections in October 2002 produced a hung parliament. The Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), which supported Musharraf, took 77 seats, followed by Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) with 63, Muttahida Majlis-e- Amal (MMA) with 45, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) – or PML-N – with 14, National Democratic Alliance with 13 and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with 13, leaving a large block of members of smaller parties and independents. The Commonwealth observer group present said that ‘on election day this was a credible election’, but that ‘in the context of various measures taken by the government we are not persuaded of the overall fairness of the process as a whole’. The National Assembly elected Chaudhry Amir Hussain (PML-Q) as Speaker and Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali (PML-Q) as Prime Minister. The continuing dispute between Musharraf and the opposition parties on the status of the Legal Framework Order (and especially his power to dismiss the Prime Minister and dissolve the Assembly) and Musharraf’s own position as President and chief of army staff created a political deadlock. Parliament was not functioning and the government ruled by decree. The MMA emerged as leader in the campaign against the Legal Framework Order as the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) – an alliance of the PPPP, the PML-N and several smaller parties – was weakened by the death of its leader and the absence of exiled leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. In January 2004 Musharraf won confidence votes in the Assembly, the Senate and the four provincial assemblies. In May 2004, in view of the progress made towards democracy, the CMAG readmitted Pakistan to the councils of the Commonwealth. In June 2004 the Prime Minister resigned and was succeeded by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain until July, when he made way for Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on his winning a seat in the Assembly. In December 2004 Musharraf announced he would continue as President and chief of army staff until 2007, when elections were due. In the presidential election held in October 2007 Musharraf was unofficially proclaimed winner pending a key ruling by the Supreme Court regarding his eligibility to run for presidency while serving as chief of army staff. Exiled Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007 after the presidential election. On the way from the airport to Karachi, her convoy was hit by a suicide bomb attack. She survived, but hundreds were killed and injured. In November 2007, ostensibly because of national security concerns, Musharraf declared a state of emergency, effectively suspending the country’s constitution by a provisional constitutional order (PCO). A news blackout was imposed on major private television stations. Several hundred protestors, journalists and political opponents of Musharraf were arrested and eight Supreme Court judges – including the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudary, who would not recognise the PCO – were dismissed and put under house arrest. Musharraf came under increasing international pressure to restore the country’s constitution and abide by the timetable for free and fair parliamentary elections. The CMAG convened in Kampala on 22 November 2007 and suspended Pakistan from the councils of the Commonwealth, pending the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in that country. Musharraf appointed a new Chief Justice and a caretaker Prime Minister, Muhammad Mian Soomro. He resigned as army chief and was sworn in as President for a five-year term. The state of emergency was lifted in December 2007. Nawaz Sharif, exiled leader of the PML-N, at his second attempt in the same year, was allowed to return. By the end of November 2007, both he and Bhutto had registered to participate in the following parliamentary elections. On 27 December 2007, as she was leaving an election rally in Rawalpindi, Bhutto was assassinated. Violence erupted throughout the country. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir’s son, was chosen as her eventual successor; her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was to lead the PPPP as co-chair until Bilawal had completed his education. The elections due for January were postponed. The parliamentary elections were held in February 2008; the turnout was 44 per cent. Opposition parties won the most seats – the PPPP won 125 seats and the PML-N 91 – but no party had an absolute majority. The party supporting Musharraf, the PML-Q, Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 224
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