Pakistan-administered Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Tuesday called upon Islamabad not to implement the January 17 judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on governance of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in view of its “likely adverse impact.”
“We call upon the government of Pakistan not to implement the decision of Supreme Court of Pakistan on Gilgit-Baltistan. Instead, the recommendations prepared by the relevant committees in the past should be put into effect,” he said in a statement.
On January 17, the Supreme Court accorded approval to a freshly proposed presidential order enshrining framework for governance of GB, asking the president to promulgate the order on the advice of the federal government in any case within a fortnight.
The judgement authored by the then CJP Saqib Nisar said that no amendment shall be made to the order as so promulgated except in terms of the procedure provided in Article 124 of the same, nor shall it be repealed or substituted, without the instrument amending, repealing or substituting (as the case may be) the same being placed before the apex court by the federation through an application that will be treated as a petition under the Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
Premier Haider was of the view that the judgment had virtually rendered the GB legislative assembly a “worthless institution.”
He said the entire political leadership in PaK was unanimous in its opinion and stand that the GB legislative assembly should be unconditionally empowered in all internal affairs.
“Except for defence, security, currency and telecommunications, the powers to do legislation on all other affairs should be vested in and returned to the legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan,” Haider said.
According to him, the apex court judgment had multiplied legal and constitutional complexities about the status, authority and powers of the area and its legislature.
“On the one hand, the judgment acknowledges Gilgit-Baltistan as part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir but on the other it makes it mandatory for the federation to move to the apex court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution for any amendment [in the proposed presidential order],” he said.
Haider made it clear that people in PaK fully support complete constitutional rights of their brethren inhabiting GB.
“Since it’s a highly important and sensitive matter, the judgment can [adversely] affect the position of the government of Pakistan,” he said, adding, all political parties, government and people in PaK were “on the same page” in this regard.