ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that Parliament, with its supreme powers, has merged tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province through the 25th Constitutional Amendment.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandiyal heard a constitutional petition filed by a large number of elders and maliks of erstwhile tribal areas, challenging the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, through which tribal areas was merged. In KPK Province. Justice Umar Ata Bandiyal said that since important legal questions are before the bench, they were thinking of setting up a larger bench. The court directed both the federal government and KP's government to respond regarding federal units and adjourned the matter to February.
Justice Omar Ata Bandiyal observed that it is the stand of the petitioners that instead of merging the tribal belt into KP province, it could have been set up as a separate province as they are now a minority, and not enjoy their traditional independence. Can. Since FATA was a part of the federation, the highest-powered parliament has merged it into KP province, Justice Bandiyal said, adding that the apex court has very limited power to measure constitutional amendments. However, Justice Omar Ata Bandiyal said that among the 400 people's representatives elected to the Parliament, people from tribal areas are also included. The designated Chief Justice further said that democracy is the foundation of the Constitution, adding that the bench is thinking of forming a larger bench as the matter pertains to the Constitution and they want to see the composition of the Federation under the Constitution.
Another member of the bench, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, observed that according to the petitioners, the status of a union unit could not be changed, adding that the framers of the constitution had separated the union units to retain their culture and status. kept as provinces. However, Wasim Sajjad argued that the merger of union units, as well as its division, are two separate issues. He argued that neither the Fata was part of a province nor was it represented in the provincial assembly, the process of creating one or more administrative units of a province is available, therefore, the division of the Fata was also possible.
Advocate General KP Shumail Butt argued that the petitioners are trying to raise a political question before the Hon'ble Court, which is not the mandate of the SC. He further argued that whether making FATA a part of the KP or granting it the status of an independent province as demanded by the petitioners is out of the constitutional mandate of the court and to be resolved judicially in review of a constitutional amendment. Very political.
He further said that neither Article 247(6) was a super-constitutional provision nor was it part of the salient features of the Constitution as the very article is written in a permissive language which would allow the merger of FATA or change its tribal status. gives.
Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing to February after the court directed the federal and KP's government to submit replies in respect of federal units. The elders and maliks of the erstwhile FATA had challenged the 25th Constitutional Amendment before the court, which merged the tribal areas into the KPK. The petitioners had argued that the amendment was passed in violation of the basic structure of the Constitution and was therefore illegal. He further stated that through the amendment, the distinctive character of FATA as a unit of the Sangh was destroyed. He argued that FATA had lost its identity as well as 12 seats in the National Assembly and 8 seats in the Senate. He had further submitted that the amendment deviated from the objective motion of the Constitution which could not be allowed.
Similarly, the petitioners had recalled that the Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam had given a commitment to FATA that no change in the system of governance or way of life would be made without his consultation.