AS tensions continue to simmer in Islamabad, on Tuesday, some 100 km away from the federal capital, another clash of institutions saw a prime minister sent packing by the courts over a transgression that, from the face of it, perhaps ought to have been treated with a little more leniency. The High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s surprise decision to punish PTI’s Sardar Tanveer Ilyas over ‘contemptuous’ remarks against the AJK judiciary have caused quite a bit of a stir, perhaps due to expectations in some quarters for similar rulings to be issued by the top court in Islamabad. Mr Ilyas was deemed by the court to be unfit to remain a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly or to hold public office for two years and was consequently removed from office as prime minister of the territory. While the court said it had issued a “lenient” sentence — Mr Ilyas was punished till the rising of the court, much like Yousuf Raza Gilani was in 2012 — it nonetheless seemed excessive considering the gravity of Mr Ilyas’s ‘crime’.

The now-former AJK premier had been hauled up for indirectly criticising the judiciary for interfering in the workings of his government and tying his hands through the issuance of various injunctions. Though Mr Ilyas quite readily admitted before the court that his remarks may have crossed a line and, on the court’s instructions, even tendered a written acknowledgement of the mistake and apologised for it, the six judges hearing the matter were unanimous in their decision to send him home. The judges’ dim view of contempt stands in stark contrast to the tolerance generally shown by Pakistan’s superior judiciary, which has largely chosen to ignore provocations from various political leaders and taken a more magnanimous view by writing them off as politics. Contempt proceedings, especially against public representatives, are a sensitive matter given the delicate equilibrium of power between the branches of the state. We hope the AJK Supreme Court takes this into consideration when it takes up Mr Ilyas’ re-filed appeal.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2023