Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa on Tuesday criticized the introduction of laws through ordinances, saying it was equivalent to usurping the work of parliament.
"Close parliament if laws are to be introduced by ordinances," Judge Isa said during the hearing of a case related to logging in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He was part of a three-member bank headed by Judge Mushir Alam.
Editorial: By ordinance alone
During the hearing, the court rejected the requests submitted by the petitioners who claim to own forest land.
The bank noted that the petitioners had not asked to be given their share at any level during the case hearing. Judge Isa told the petitioners that they had no right to claim the land and that the government should have submitted a petition for review in the case.
Judge Isa also asked the government representative why the order was not implemented in the case issued in 2013.
"The protection of forests is important for the future of the next generations," said the judge, adding that all laws related to forests in the country were "designed to protect corruption."
He said the country's rulers are absorbed in "other problems" when the "real problem" is the protection of the environment.
He also asked why an important law on forests was instituted through an ordinance.
Judge Isa noted that the amount of forests in KP and Gilgit-Baltistan is decreasing and the area is losing greenish.
"No one is ready to touch a law introduced by a dictator," he said. "Dictators are coming and it takes two minutes to end the parliament."
He also said that the prevailing atmosphere in the country was such that "you cannot speak freely about anything."
The judge said that every person involved in forest-related cases is a "liar."
"Those logging forests are killing generations," he concluded.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1507100/shut-down-parliament-if-laws-are-to-be-introduced-through-ordinances-justice-isa