Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday said that any step taken by armed forces without the direction of the federal government would be considered unconstitutional. Talking to members of a delegation of the National Defence University who called on him at the Supreme Court, he said that the constitution is the supreme law of the land and state institutions are its organs.
The constitution has devised the powers of the legislature, judiciary and the executive, the CJP said, adding that the institutions should function within their constitutional limits. He said that any unconstitutional step of the military comes into the ambit of sedition. The Chief Justice said the powers of judiciary and the executive have been described in the constitution and the judicial system of Pakistan has been functioning under the constitution.
He said that the Judges of higher courts have written in their code of conduct that no Judge will take oath under PCO. The Chief Justice said that no single person, or institution, can solely lead the nation to a right direction but only the collective effort by all institutions and the nation can lead the country to a destination of hope and prosperity.
He stressed that co-ordination and harmony among the state's different institutions would help Pakistan to progress both politically and economically. "The harmony among the institutions guarantees national progress," he added. All state institutions should work within their perimeters of influence, Justice Iftikhar said, adding that the constitution guarantees the judiciary's independence. He, moreover, added that the Supreme Court has tried its best to protect the basic rights of the people and curtailed the misuse of power.