Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that it is the constitution, which is supreme entity in the country and not the parliament. He stressed Article 8 of the constitution empowered the Supreme Court to strike down any legislation, which encroaches upon the basic rights of the citizens.
According to sources, the chief justice as addressing a lawyers' ceremony at the Supreme Court Karachi registry when he expressed his view. He referred that there is a "misconception in the minds of people regarding supremacy of parliament" and said that it was the constitution, which expressed and embodied the will of the people.
The chief justice further said that law is equal for every citizen of the country irrespective of status and position and emphasized that the constitution was to be followed, preserved and protected at all costs.
Chaudhary said that the Supreme Court was fully empowered to strike down any law, which was in conflict with the constitution and emphasised that it was time, after 65 years of independence, that"we free ourselves from the shackles of obsequious intellectual servility to colonial paradigms and start adhering to our constitution".
We should only examine our own constitution to ensure that the will of the people prevails, which is the very essence of a democratic system, he added.
Pakistani Chief Justice while referring to Article 190 of the constitution, which binds all executive and judicial authorities throughout Pakistan to act in the aid of the Supreme Court, emphasized on the need for an independent judiciary in the country and said that only a free and independent judiciary could ensure the will of the people being enforced in its true spirit.
(With inputs from ANI)
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