Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had advised the president to sign the ordinance and a summary was sent in this regard on April 2, following an agreement between government and opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on April 1 on the formation of a judicial body.
The Ordinance will extend throughout the country and will come into force at once. It will be a three-member commission comprised of three Supreme Court judges, which will be constituted by the Chief Justice of Pakistan on the request of federal government.
The commission will be fully empowered to regulate its own procedure, including fixing place and time of its sitting. The federation and the provinces will be bound to assist the commission and its special investigating teams would consist of officers from the relevant executive authorities, including but not limited to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), the directorate of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the directorate of Military intelligence (MI), and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to assist the commission in the inquiry.
The high-powered judicial commission will be tasked to investigate the rigging allegations as soon as possible and preferably within 45 days of its first meeting.
The two sides reached an agreement this week on formation of the judicial commission. According to the agreement, the commission will enquire into and determine whether or not: (a) the 2013 general elections were organized and conducted impartially, honestly, fairly, justly and in accordance with law; (b) the 2013 general elections were manipulated or influenced pursuant to a systematic effort or by design by anyone; and (c) the results of the 2013 general elections, on an overall basis, are a true and fair reflection of the mandate given by the electorate."
Justice Tariq Mehmood, a former judge of Balochistan High Court said that the judicial commission will be formed after the federal government writes to the Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan.
To a question whether the commission will complete the investigation within 45 days, he said it will be premature to say anything about the process of the investigation as it is yet to be known how things will start given the nature of the rigging allegation.
A senior official of the law ministry said that the federal government will write a letter to the Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan for the formation of the judicial commission. "Under the law, it's mandatory to issue an official gazette of the ordinance, afterwards a letter will be written to the chief justice," he added.
Noted lawyer Wasim Sajjad said that after issuance of the presidential ordinance, it has become a law which will come into force at once. About the investigation, he said that it might be prolonged if somebody challenges the Presidential Ordinance in the court.
Besides, he said the Supreme Court can also take suo motu notice of the ordinance if it infringes upon the fundamental rights of people. However, the situation will be clear once the federal government writes a letter to the court for the formation of the commission.
About an earlier letter written to the Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan by the prime minister for setting up a judicial commission, Wasim Sajjad said that it was just a letter and now it has become a law, and the apex court can not ignore it.