SEPARATION OF POWERS

Judiciary: Power to make

judgments on law

Parliament: Power to Executive Government:

make and change law. Power to put law in action

Introduction
The design of separation of powers vary from country to country. In some countries, there is
complete separation of powers with reference to their connecting functions and between each
person of separate branches. Members of the cabinet representing the executive organ can be part
of National Assembly which represents a part of Parliament.
It is impossible to achieve absolute separation of powers, some overlapping will occur,
especially between the executive and the legislature. However, the separation between the
judiciary and the other two branches is very strict as the judiciary must be independent and free
from political influence.
In Pakistan, the judiciary has the power to pronounce upon the accent of decision of executive
and legislative power of government. The judicial power can decide upon the constitutionality of
laws and declare invalid any exercise of power that is not authorized by law and conflicts with
the constitution. This is known as judicial review. Under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of
Pakistan, the Supreme Court can take action by exercising Suo moto power.
Even though Pakistan has been following the U.S. constitutional doctrine of separation of powers
and a system of checks and balances; the application of trichotomy of powers in Pakistan could
not receive that appreciation. The demarcations of these functions are not clearly articulated,
which creates institutional conflicts. The underlying objective here is to help each organ identify
their constitutional limits, accept the existence and jurisdiction of other state organs, restrain its
authority, keep surveillance on others so they may not transgress their authority, and not hinder
their functioning.
Role of Bureaucracy
It is being circulated that there are not three but six powers. Those are bureaucracy, media, and
external advisors. Bureaucracy have the power to implement laws that congress promulgates,
creating their own rules and settling disputes through the process of administrative adjudication.
Technically, bureaucracy is part of the executive branch, but its influence spans so wide that it
also includes the p0wer of the other two branches. Bureaucracy is not just about enforcing laws;
rather, it also serves to make new regulations and, in a way, act as the legislature since the rule
has the force of law and people can be punished by breaking them.
Throughout the history of Pakistan, it has been evident that former bureaucrats such as Ghulam
Muhammad and Iskandar Mirza have been highly involved in the political and Constitutional
infrastructure. Although sixty years has passed, Pakistan’s bureaucracy is nothing but the ruling
class being neither responsive nor accountable for their actions and we can fairly say that
Pakistan’s bureaucracy believe that their work is to rule rather than to serve. Quoting the opening
remarks of the International Crisis Group’s Report on “Reforming Civil Services in Pakistan”
(2010):

“Decades of mismanagement, political manipulation, and corruption have

rendered Pakistan’s civil service incapable of providing effective governance
and basic public services. In public perceptions, the country’s 2.4 million
civil servants are widely seen as unresponsive and corrupt, and bureaucratic
procedures cumbersome and exploitive”.

Role of Media
Regards to media, sometimes called the fifth branch or pillar of the central role of government, is
considered a bridge between the government and the people. The main goal of the media is to
ensure transparency in reporting on governmental issues and to provide information to the people
so can make an opinion and be involved to hold the government accountable. Media plays and
important role in narrative building and political landscape shaping. Moreover, the media reports
should include the politicians’ wrongdoings. Similar to the function of judiciary, they should
interview politicians, not as a way to direct public opinion, but rather to present the truth and stay
away from bias and prejudice.
Then again, it has been seen in so many occasions in Pakistan, especially during the recent crisis,
different media outlets were promoting the policy of Imran Khan and many others were trying to
promote the oppositions’ narrative.
Role of External Advisor
The sixth power is the external advisors which include the advisory board and lobby group. They
are hired by the government to report and advice on the issues the government may not be aware
of. Consequently, they have an effect of influencing the legislation and its execution, or at times
even arguably, manipulating it.
In Pakistan, we have different advisory boards such as an economic advisory council, maritime
advisory committee, technical advisory committee, etc. As of April 2019, PM Imran Khan
formed an 18 member economic advisory council to advise the government on the economic and
financial situation, in which, the minister of finance, Asad Umer, and other members presented
different proposals and professional advice about the formulation and implementation its
economic policies.
Another advisory board is the council of Islamic ideologies. For instance, in the case of Zainab,
the public demand was hanging of the rapist. The Senate standing Committee on Law and Justice
sent a bill to the Council of Islamic Ideology for review. The Council advised against public
hanging and stated that there was no amendment needed for the execution of people. The
Council of Islamic Ideology has been influential on people with regards to their policies.

Conclusion
Some people say that there is a seventh power that rests with people. But from my analysis, the
people are far busy paying their financial debts and fulfilling their basic needs. The answer is
well found in a famous quite: “It is necessary from the very nature of the things that power
should be a check to power” – Montesquieu
To overcome potential inter-branch conflict, self-realization of constraints, being passive virtues,
is the most viable option for a long-term consolidation of democracy in Pakistan. The state
organs share coequal status and no organ dictates or imposes restrictions on others; rather, share
authority for ensuring state functioning and public welfare.
In Pakistan, the state organs have been passing through a transitional phase of development
where organs will take reasonable time to realize their working boundaries. The sooner these
organs realize their maximum constraints, the more realistic and progressive would be the
democratic transition and constitutionalism.