The Justice Cabinet

By Amer Soharwardi

With Justice (retd) Nasirul Mulk about to take charge of the country’s affairs as the care taker prime minister for at least next two months, the first and foremost responsibility that awaits the former judge is to select his cabinet.

Although NAB will scan the selection but still the probables need to have very good reputation, good moral character and clean history in their respective fields.

Sources have revealed that this care taker cabinet will be a mixture of people from different walks of life and selection will be made from judiciary, bureaucracy , social activist, journalists and retired persons from armed forces.

The purpose of the caretaker cabinet in Pakistan is to create a conducive environment for the general elections, ensuring the neutrality of the government to facilitate a smooth transfer of power from one elected government to another.

As a non-partisan administration, the caretaker’s primary role is to exercise the routine functions of government.

The 18th and 20th amendments to Pakistan’s constitution had a significant impact on Pakistan’s caretaker government, advancing neutral and inclusive appointment procedures for caretaker officials.

Also, the Code of Conduct for political parties and candidates published ahead of the general elections 2013 by the Election Commission of Pakistan upholds the neutrality of the caretaker government by requiring its officials to abstain themselves from campaigning.

This is in line with Pakistan’s international obligations as, in the absence of the representative institutions in the form of the National and Provincial Assemblies, the scope of this provisional administration needs to be limited to ensuring administrative continuity.

Lacking clear legal guidelines, the 2013 caretaker government was marked by the prevailing confusion about its mandate and function.

Noting the regulatory vacuum and creating additional legal precedent, in its verdict of June 6, 2013, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared: “a caretaker government possesses limited powers and authority, particularly in view of the fact that when it is appointed, there is no National Assembly in place and thus the all important aspect of accountability is absent.”

The European Union 2013 Election Observation Mission to Pakistan recommended in its final report that “the mandate, functioning and neutrality of future caretaker governments be more clearly defined an efficient caretaker government requires a clear set of rules that define its mandate, function and neutrality.

International monitors are keenly watching the developments in Pakistan, European Union, United states and China will be directly observing the upcoming elections.

Another aspect of interest for them and to whole of Pakistan will the selection of justice cabinet.

Many reputable names are among the list but few with greater international exposure are the top runners.

According to reliable sources, Mr Javed Jabbar, a very seasoned politician, media and advertising personality, seasoned educationist Barrister Shahida Jamil, prominent journalist Syed Azfar Shah Bukhari, prominent business personality Zubair Motiwala and General (r) Talat Masood are among the front runners to become a part of the “justice cabinet”.

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