Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto claims SC committed 'contempt of Parliament'

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Supreme Court (SC) committed "contempt of Parliament" by "undermining the decisions of the House", local media reported.

Bhutto, who is Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman, said that funds for holding elections in Punjab could not be released to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) without the Parliament's permission.

While speaking on the National Assembly (NA) floor, the foreign minister said that the decisions of the Parliament could not be ignored and said that "if the Parliament allows releasing of funds, we have no objection".

During his address, he also said that Supreme Court "wants to impose a minority decision by turning it into a majority one. We will not accept it under any circumstances".

He further noted that the executive was supposed to follow the decisions of the Parliament. He said, "It is against the basic principle of democracy and the Constitution. The Parliament has the authority to decide how public money can be spent and where it is spent."

Bhutto also referred to a letter, which was written by the Speaker of the National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial.

Bhutto said that the letter is not enough as the Parliament was insulted and its privileges were violated.

In the letter, the speaker noted that the country's top court must "avoid getting involved in political thicket", as far as possible. The foreign minister suggested that the matter be taken up by the privilege committee.

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Speaker's letter to Pakistan's top judge

In the letter to the country's top judge, the Speaker addressed the ongoing issue of the court's encroachment upon the National Assembly's power to approve expenditures from the Federal Consolidated Fund, local media reported.

The letter is in the current issue between the government and the Supreme Court as they remain at loggerheads over the elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies.

The speaker of the lower house wrote: "It is best to leave resolution of political matters by parliament and the political parties."

"We must work together to uphold the Constitution, protect the democratic values and work within our respective constitutional domains to ensure that confrontation between the organs of the state is avoided and the constitutional order is maintained," he stated.

Ashraf also mentioned the "profound concern and unease of the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan regarding some recent decisions of the Supreme Court and comments made by some Judges, as reported in media".

(With inputs from agencies)

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