Restoration of sacked judiciary unconstitutional, say most Pak experts?

Lahore, Mar. 17 (ANI): Constitutional experts in Pakistani are divided over the legitimacy of the sacked judges' restoration of sacked judges through an executive order passed by the Prime Minister.

Some experts have claimed that the step contradicts an earlier Supreme Court verdict on judges who refused to take the oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), while others called the SC ruling 'illegal', the Daily Times reports.

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According to Article 199 and 200 of the Pakistan Constitution, the judgment is binding on all institutions of the state and no one can negate its legality.

Pakistan's former federal law minister SM Masood said that all steps taken in the judicial crisis, including Pervez Musharraf's tenure to Asif Ali Zardari's tenure, violated the Constitution.

He opined that the judges could not be reinstated through an executive order because of the complications created by the SC ruling.

Legal expert Hamid Khan, however, said the judgment had no legal value at all, and if PCO courts were unacceptable, a judgment delivered by them should also not be accepted.

He also said the 'judges' who issued the judgment "should prove their legitimacy and then issue the judgment".

Another constitutional expert, Fawad Hussain Chaudhry stressed that the judges could not be restored without taking fresh oath. With the notification of restoration of judges, there would be several legal anomalies in the procedural course of the restoration, he added.

However, advocate Azhar Hameed said the reinstatement was totally in line with the Constitution. (ANI)