The conflict-ridden political culture in Pakistan can be abolished by applying the tripartite theory of Baron de Montesquieu, a French political philosopher, in letter and spirit. According to Montesquieu, all three governing bodies of the state: the Parliament (a legislative body); the Executive (a government body); and the Judiciary (a law interpreting body), ought to exercise their powers independently. If one analyses the recent predicament of Pakistan, it may be observed that powers are being overlapped unnecessarily.
The purpose of drawing the line between the ambits of all the main pillars of the state is to avoid arbitrariness and concentration of power. The democratic process can severely be diminished when powers are concentrated in one hand. Moreover, there will be chaos if the limits for institutions are not clearly demarcated. Ideally all the institutions should exercise the powers conferred on them independently but, in reality, it doesn’t happen.
On the other hand, check and balance is not possible without some legitimate monitoring of one institution by the other. Government is held to account to Parliament as the PM and state ministers are all parliament members. The legislature is answerable to the populace because all of its members are elected public representatives. Additionally, judiciary challenges administrative functions of the government through judicial review, when its role is not in the best interests of the country. And the judiciary itself, has its own check and balance mechanism through the system of appeals.
Unfortunately, after the Panama scandal, the judiciary appears to have been over-exercising its authority. Incessant interference in the administrative functions of government is, without an iota of doubt, a constitutional violation. This new trend of judicial activism is undermining parliamentary sovereignty which is one of the main features of the codified constitution of Pakistan.
Regrettably, the Parliament is also seen confronting judicial verdicts, which is again a breach of the doctrine of separation of powers. Recently, the apex court’s judgment in Musharraf treason case has been widely criticized by the parliamentarians and many of them are intending to challenge the verdict in the court.
To cap it all, for a better and prosperous future of Pakistan, separation of powers is the need of the hour. Intervention to a degree, where it serves the best interest of public, is necessary but exceeding the limits is same as subverting the Constitution.