January 21, 2019:

Last week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court got a new Chief Justice, Asif Saeed Khosa.

But soon after the top judge took oath, he showed signs that he won’t be any different from his predecessors when it comes to rooting for the military.

The 26th Chief Justice of Pakistan indicated, at the farewell ceremony of outgoing chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar, that he too would follow the ‘Bajwa Doctrine’, a proposed move to limit the financial autonomy of Pakistan’s provinces.

Chief Justice Khosa’s allegiance to the doctrine – in his short tenure, which will end 20 Dec 2019 – may spell fresh crisis for Pakistan.

In March 2018, a few select journalists were invited to speak to Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in an unconventional briefing.

It was reported that General Bajwa wanted to do away with the 18th Amendment, passed unanimously by Pakistan’s national assembly in 2010, and bring in a more centralized system of governance.

Striking down the devolution of powers for provinces, this move would make federal authorities the sole in-charge, especially when it comes to allocation of financial resources.

General Bajwa believes that Pakistan owes its current economic downturn to provinces that are drawing too much money, and therefore forcing curbs on military spending.

So, the reversal of this amendment would also mean that the military will get an even bigger share from the federal budget.

Previous chief justices of Pakistan have been unable to do much when it comes to keeping a check on military power.

In a recent hearing before his retirement, Chief Justice Nisar asked why the 18th Amendment was passed without a parliamentary debate. His argument is fallacious because there were several rounds of deliberations before parliament approved the amendment.

And, last week, taking a leaf out of his predecessors’ book, Chief Justice Khosa said, “Let us also discuss, without mincing words or feeling shy, the role of the armed forces and the intelligence agencies in the governance paradigm.”

He proposed that he would hold an inter-institutional dialogue, but worryingly suggested that the President of Pakistan should convene and chair this meeting that should be attended by the top parliamentary leadership, the top judicial leadership and the top executive leadership, including the military & intelligence agencies.

This is quite alarming given that Pakistan is a parliamentary system where the power lies with the PM.

What is more, Chief Justice Khosa suggested the gathering come up with a Charter of Governance—even though as per the Constitution, the onus lies on the parliament and provincial governments.

But such centralization of power is anti-democratic and must be discouraged.

However, there is little chance of that happening since the central government’s spokesperson has already welcomed this controversial proposal by the new chief justice.

This is perhaps because the new Govt. enjoys a thin majority in parliament and cannot reverse the 18th Amendment on its own. It may need an alternative platform of governance to do so.

The Chief Justice calling for a parallel governance structure only furthers the popular belief in Pakistan’s power circles that most of the economic woes the country faces today are due to provincial autonomy.

Chief Justice Khosa is undoubtedly taking a cue from General Bajwa’s words.

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