The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan has declared the notification of the Government of Pakistan banning the import of Indian and Israeli books and goods legally valid and has declared all the instructions given to the federal government by the Lahore High Court null and void.
Justice Amir Farooq issued a majority written judgment while Justice Ali Baqir Najafi also issued an additional note.
In the written judgment, the Lahore High Court’s order appointing a review officer to the federal government was declared suo motu and quashed.
The Federal Constitutional Court wrote in the judgment that private petitioners are free to approach the federal government for redressal of their grievances, the High Court has no authority to act on its own, matters of foreign policy and national security are the exclusive prerogative of the executive, so the judiciary cannot interfere in it.
The majority written judgment said that it is the discretion of the government to decide which countries it wants to have trade relations with. If the judiciary gives orders related to trade, it will be an excess of its powers. The right to read is certainly a fundamental right, but it is subject to restrictions under the laws of the country and foreign policy.
Justice Amir Farooq wrote in the judgment that the Constitution of Pakistan is an “evolving constitutional document” that can interpret new rights with changing times.
The Constitutional Court wrote that the right to free education under Article A25 is only up to the extent of schools and colleges. Law books are available cheaply from India, but the ban on them will remain due to foreign policy.
The Federal Constitutional Court declared the right to read as a fundamental human right under Article 9 of the Constitution.
The written judgment said that the right to read is linked to the right to life, which enables the human mind to understand reality and history. A private bookstore in Lahore had sought permission to order law books from India.
According to the petitioner, law books are available cheaply from India and the legal system there is similar to Pakistan. The federal government had banned all types of trade and imports from India after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, however, the Lahore High Court ruled in favor of the petitioner and ordered the government to review the import of books.
According to the Lahore High Court, knowledge cannot be banned and the government should be lenient in this matter.
The Ministry of Commerce challenged the Lahore High Court’s decision in the Federal Constitutional Court.
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