No court, tribunal or other authority may challenge the declaration of emergency of 14 September 1999 or any other order made pursuant to this Regulation. No judgment, decree, pleading, order or proceeding may be made or given by any court or tribunal against the Chief Executive or any other authority designated by him. In addition to the paragraph suggesting a barbaric public execution, the verdict was controversial for several other reasons. There have been discussions about whether the trial was conducted in absentia, as well as the timing of the first verdict, which appears to have been rushed just two days before the resignation of current Supreme Court Chief Justice Asif Khosa on December 20. The timing is no coincidence, as it was the Chief Justice who instructed the Special Court to hold the trial in absentia in March. It was also this chief justice who, in the detailed judgment handed down a few days ago on the case of the extension of the army chief, said: „It does not matter how tall you are; The law is above you,“ the army delivered a sharp blow. The new government survived until 1990, when the president dissolved parliament. After the case went to the Supreme Courts, this time they simply refused to intervene and authorized new elections. However, when the trial was repeated in 1993, the Supreme Court upheld the appeal that the assemblies were upheld.

The court upheld the subsequent dissolution in 1996 on the grounds that the government had completely collapsed. Finally, in 1999, the current regime took control through a declaration of a state of emergency and a series of subsequent orders to consolidate military control, including the latest version of the regulation on the regulatory framework. The 2002 regulation on the regulatory framework was adopted by the military regime on 21 August 2002. It was incorporated into the Constitution by the Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2003, which was passed by Parliament on 31 December 2003. This constitutional amendment confirmed all regulations, appointments and other actions taken by the government under the LFO and protected it from legal action against those who wish to do so. The legal authority exercised by the military commander to implement these constitutional amendments derives from a Supreme Court decision in Zafar Ali Shah v. Pervez Musharraf (PLD 2000 SC 869), the relevant part of which is reproduced below: Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued an order to the Special Court charged with trying the treason case. that he could continue with the trial and verdict without Musharraf`s explanation. Because he refused to appear in court. This fall, Khan`s government tried to postpone the sentence; The court finally issued a first verdict on December 17, the detailed verdict was published on December 19. Naeem Shakir, Lawyer, Lahore High Court, Pakistan The Legal Framework Ordinance, or LFO as it is commonly known, has been criticized inside and outside Pakistan for the amendments it made to the 1973 Constitution in 2002, although it is only the latest in a seemingly endless series of challenges and amendments to the Constitution.

Indeed, the current military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, took power in 1999 from an elected government that single-handedly made 29 constitutional amendments. However, the LFO gained notoriety by institutionalizing the military`s role in national politics and administration, allowing one person to be both chief executive and president. In 1965, the second constitution was also abrogated by the new military ruler, General Yayha Khan, who in his 1969 provincial constitutional order also abolished the jurisdiction of the supreme courts and installed himself as president. He introduced the first legal framework regulation, which provided for general elections in 1970. When the issue of martial law, the LFO and other government actions was brought before the Supreme Court this time, the Court refused to support the military takeover and declared it illegal; At the same time, the country split and Bangladesh declared independence. In order to manage the affairs of state, a provisional constitution was promulgated in 1972, until the third constitution was introduced the following year, which is supposed to still be in force today. In 1977, a new military regime took control and the Supreme Court reaffirmed its right to do so. General Muhammad Zia ul Haq suspended the constitution completely in 1981, declared himself president in a referendum in 1984, and introduced a hand-picked parliament in 1985. 2. A judge of the Supreme Court appointed after the coming into force of the Ordinance shall take an oath before taking office in the form specified in the Schedule.

There is no doubt that Justice Khosa aimed to stay in power – continuing a trend towards militant and powerful justice in Pakistan, but which, for the first time, is significantly pushing back and seizing the military in this way.