The world system is defined by social norms, identities, culture and moral values. Whereas a state is defined by its four organs; legislature, executive, judiciary and the media. All these organs work as a binding force for any state. The states which make these organs strong always survive in worst periods and manage to rise to the occasion. Generally, states work as unitary actors and rule of law is supposed to be followed for a smooth transition. The rule of law lies under the belt of the Judiciary. The generic purpose of the Judiciary of a state is to safeguard the constitution and other state organs.
In the gauche political game of Pakistan, the judiciary always has a significant role to play. History shows that in the last decade, judiciary played a vital role in regulating the politics of Pakistan. In the current era, the judiciary of Pakistan is quite strong and taking irregularities out of the system. The recent Panama episode, Sou Motu cases, NAB cases and others are the actions which show that the Judiciary has a vibrant existence in Pakistan.
The role of the Judiciary in Balochistan is also worth mentioning here, as the prominent Ex-Chief Justice of Pakistan Ifthikar Muhammad Chaudhry belongs to Balochistan. Moreover, the Judiciary in the past two years has been ascendant in the province. The Supreme Court of Pakistan took sou motu notices of major issues in Balochistan and they were mitigated from the province. For instance, last year The Supreme Court of Pakistan took notice of the government jobs and their quotas in Balochistan. The government was accused of responding irregularly to the applications, also, the people of Balochistan were not incentivized from these jobs. People from all over the country were making fake domiciles of Balochistan and acquiring jobs in the ministries and other state institutions. Subsequently, the Supreme Court summoned the officials of Balochistan government dealing with the government jobs quota to respond accordingly.
Recently, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Honorable Justice Saqib Nisar again practiced an unprecedented move and summoned the two former Chief Ministers of Balochistan — Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and Nawab Sanaullah Zehri over the development of the province. Chief Justice Saqib Nisar ordered that both the former Chief Ministers should appear in an apex court and brief about what they have done for the province during their reign. The remarks came from the larger bench when the Young Doctors Strike plea was being discussed in the session. The Chief Justice of Pakistan said, “Three chief ministers came during one tenure [of the federal government]but what did they do for the improvement of governance? Call these chief ministers who ruled here for more than four years.” The Chief Justice was furious over the fact that why the doctors were still on strike although their demands have been met. He further inquired about who was treating the patients while these doctors were on strike. The Chief Justice also took notice of the deteriorating conditions of the hospitals in Quetta. Then and there, the Chief Justice summoned the Health Minister upon which the Chief Minister of Balochistan Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, reached the court, along with the Health Minister Mir Majid Abro. The Chief Justice then told the Health Minister to report all irregularities. The other session of this larger bench is scheduled on Wednesday.
Overall, the Judiciary of Pakistan is playing an active role throughout the country as well as in Balochistan. The check and balance of the judicial setup is very important for the growth of the state institutions.