There are limits Judicial activism is a common feature in
countries where parliaments are not sovereign and instead have
constitutions emphasizing separation of powers and judicial
review. It is, however, only in Pakistan where judicial activism
has led to the dismissal of an elected prime minister and
threatens to send home a second one. The core issue is whether
the apex court can take away the constitutional immunity granted
to the president against litigation. Dr Ali Qazilbash, a
professor of law at LUMS, argues that there was very little room
for un-clarity on the issue of presidential immunity in the
constitution. Justice (rtd)Fazal Karim, however, maintains that
while the basic premise of immunity was clear, there was,
nonetheless, a fair amount of room for judicial interpretation
and key questions could be raised by the Supreme Court, partly
because the issue of immunity had not been invoked in Pakistan
till now. In his interview with the BBC, eminent lawyer Aitzaz
Ahsan who defended Gilani in Supreme