Pandemic case affects challenge to NFC composition.

Byline: Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court's recent observation regarding the exercise of executive authority between federal and provincial governments has led the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to postpone the hearing of a challenge to the National Finance Commission (NFC) composition.

'There has been a recent order of the Supreme Court on the coronavirus pandemic case that reflects a paradigm shift in the jurisprudence on the Centre and province relationship,' Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurengzeb observed while hearing a petition of the main opposition party in the National Assembly against the May 12 composition of the NFC.

'We have to keep this in mind before deciding the fate of the petition,' said Justice Aurengzeb before postponing the proceedings till May 28.

The petition was filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Khurram Dastgir Khan.

'Now the high court will have to consider the Supreme Court's recent jurisprudence before deciding the matter at hand,' Advocate Umer Ijaz Gillani, who represented the petitioner before the IHC, told Dawn.

IHC observes SC order reflects paradigm shift in jurisprudence on Centre-provinces relationship

While hearing a suo motu case on government's measures to combat the deadly coronavirus pandemic on May 19, a five-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed had mentioned Article 149(1)(4) of the Constitution that deals with the direction to provinces in certain cases.

The provision says that the executive authority of every province will be exercised in such a manner not to impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive authority of the federation and that the executive authority of the federation will extend in giving directions to a province as may appear to the federal government to be necessary.

Similarly, Clause 4 of the Article 149 says that executive authority of the federation will also extend to the giving of directions to a province as to the manner in which the executive authority thereof is to be exercised for the purpose of preventing any grave menace to the peace or tranquillity or economic life of Pakistan or any part thereof.

In its order, the SC stated that the provision clearly showed that Covid-19 obviously was a grave menace to the peace, tranquillity and economic life of Pakistan and thus, the executive authority of the federation would stand extended to giving of the directions to the provinces to prevent the menace.

Explaining the challenge...