Pak National Assembly Speaker Tells SC to 'avoid Involvement in Political Thicket'

Islamabad, April 27 (IANS) In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Speaker of the National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf wrote that the country's top court must "avoid getting involved in political thicket", as far as possible.

The Speaker wrote the letter to the country's top judge regarding the court's encroachment upon the National Assembly's power to approve expenditures from the Federal Consolidated Fund, Geo News reported.

The development comes as the government and the Supreme Court remain at loggerheads over the elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies.

The lawmakers of the ruling alliance, in their fiery speeches, refused to hold talks with the opposition under duress and expressed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

"It is best to leave resolution of political matters by parliament and the political parties," the speaker of the lower house wrote.

In his letter, the Speaker urged the apex court's top judge and other judges as well to individually and collectively exercise restraint and respect the legislative domain of the Parliament, Geo News reported.

"We must work together to uphold the Constitution, protect the democratic values and work within our respective constitutional domains to ensure that confrontation between the organs of the state is avoided and the constitutional order is maintained," he stated.

Ashraf further wrote about conveying "profound concern and unease of the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan regarding some recent decisions of the Supreme Court and comments made by some Judges, as reported in media".

He added that those decisions amount to encroachment upon two core constitutional functions of the National Assembly -- law-making and power of the purse, Geo News reported.