Opinion and commentary

Questions have often arisen about the integrity of Pakistan’s higher judiciary. Its Supreme Court, however, acted swiftly, on July 26, while dealing with what was an unlawful action by the Speaker of Punjab’s Legislative Assembly. The court overturned an announcement of the Speaker, Dost Mohammed Mazari, that Hamza Shahbaz, the son of PM Shehbaz Sharif, was the victor in the Punjab Assembly’s vote for electing a new chief minister. The Speaker fraudulently claimed that he had received 179 votes, while his opponent, veteran Muslim League leader, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, had got only 176 votes. The court’s decision, leading to the election of Elahi, came at a time when there was growing unrest across Pakistan at the spiralling prices of essential commodities. The federal government headed by Shehbaz Sharif was being held responsible for this situation.