ISLAMABAD: The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) which is led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial is going to hold a two-day national conference on population on July 14-15.
CJP Bandial in his inaugural speech on February 1 said the Supreme Court, while exercising suo motu jurisdiction, would back initiatives to control an alarming growth in the country’s population.
“Pakistan is a developing country. It suffers from a mushrooming population which in turn has left it vulnerable to social and economic pressures. These include poor health and education facilities, low productivity, unskilled labor, unemployment and therefore poverty,” the CJP had said.
He noted that in order to tackle the myriad problems facing Pakistan, all concerned stakeholders need to come together. They have to address the core issue, namely, the alarming rate of population growth.
The CJP pointed out that these matters concerned the fundamental rights of the bulk of our population. “Therefore, the court would be keen to engender initiatives in these areas whenever required,” Justice Bandial had noted.
After his speech, senior lawyers were expecting that the CJP would resume the agenda.
However, observers witnessed that Justice Bandial actively engaged in the adjudication of high-profile political cases. The Supreme Court’s operation also remained affected because of judicial politics as the SC judges are divided into two groups.
Now the LJCP which is led by Justice Bandial is organizing the conference ahead of his retirement on September 16. In March 2019, a three-member bench led by former CJP Mian Saqib Nisar issued a 26-page judgment on population control.
The judgment said there was a need to increase the demand and utilization of contraceptives. There was a suggestion to launch a mass movement involving political leaders, Ulema and clerics, the corporate sector, academia, executive, judiciary, media, intelligentsia, and youth.
It is not yet clear whether the next CJP, Qazi Faez Isa, will attend the conference. He is in Karachi to conduct interviews of lawyers who want to practice in the Supreme Court.
Lawyers Remain Divided
There is a division among lawyers on whether the LJCP, under the supervision of the superior judiciary, should take such initiative.
When asked if population control comes under the domain of the SC in view of Article 184 (3) of the constitution, Umer Gilani’s advocate said: If we go by what the Supreme Court has recently held in the famous Dam Fund case, then the answer is in the affirmative.
“The Supreme Court, through a liberal interpretation of the term ‘question of public importance’ in Article 184(3) and the term ‘life’ used in Article 9, has arrogated to itself the right to pass judgment on pretty much any issue of governance.
“While I may not be inclined to hold this view, it seems to be the one followed by the Supreme Court in thousands of decisions since Shehla Zia vs WAPDA (PLD 1992 SC.). The court first decided that the Constitution is a living text whose meaning is rapidly changing,” he added.
