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STATE IS TO PROTECT JUDGES, INDEPENDENCE After six years, NAB gives up on LNG OF JUDICIARY, SAYS JUSTICE MINALLAH reference against
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Wednesday, 1 May, 2024 I |22 Shawwal, 1445
Rs 20.00 | Vol XIV No 301 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
ANALYSIS
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TERMS PROPOSALS MADE BY IHC FULL COURT NOT RECOMMENDATIONS OR SUGGESTIONS BUT A CHARGE SHEET
CJP JUSTICE ISA OBSERVES IF SOMEBODY CAN IMPOSE A WILL UPON THIS COURT, THAT IS ALSO INTERFERENCE
JUSTICE MANDOKHAIL SAYS ‘TWO OF OUR LEARNED MEMBERS OF BENCH HAVE BEEN TARGETED’ SINCE SC TAKES UP MATTER
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ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
USTICE Athar Minallah on Tuesday said the state had to protect the country’s judges and the independence of the judiciary. The remarks came during the hearing on interference allegations made by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges by the country’s security apparatus in judicial matters by a six-member Supreme Court (SC) bench. Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the bench comprises justices – Athar Minallah, Mansoor Ali Shah, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan. The proceedings were streamed live on the SC’s website and its YouTube channel. In late March, six IHC judges — out of a total strength of eight — wrote a startling letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) members, regarding attempts to pressure judges through the abduction and torture of their relatives as well as secret surveillance inside their homes. The letter was signed by judges Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz. On Tuesday, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan represented the government before the apex court. The SC ordered the petitioners — the bar councils and associations — to submit a response by the next hearing on
May 7, adding that it would be appropriate if it was unanimous. It also said that the federal government could submit its response or proposals through the AGP if it wanted to do so. CJP Isa said that if the allegations “refer to any [intelligence] agency, the said agency should respond” through the AGP. At the outset of the hearing, CJP Isa clarified that prior to the last hearing, the SC’s bench formation committee had “decided that all available judges in Islamabad should immediately convene”. “There was no pick and choose; whoever was available was put together,” he observed, noting that Justice Afridi had recused himself. Recalling that he had hinted at a full court, Justice Isa said that it could not be convened as two judges were unavailable. The top judge noted that there was “so
much polarisation in the country” and “people may not be so interested in the independence of the judiciary but in their own particular viewpoint to prevail”. Reiterating his remarks from the previous hearing, Justice Isa reiterated that “attacks” against ex-CJP Jillani were “upsetting”. “If somebody can impose a will upon this court, that is also interference. Interference can be from within, from without, from intelligence agencies, from your colleagues, from your family members, from social media, from everybody else,” CJP Isa said. “A judge’s judgment and order shows, speaks, shouts how much interference there is or isn’t; how much independence there is or isn’t,” he added. During the hearing, the top judge also remarked that he was “not responsible for the history of the Supreme Court.
I am only responsible from the day I became chief justice. I have gone ahead with an inclusive approach.” The chief justice asked AGP Awan if he had gone through the recommendations made by the IHC judges, to which the latter replied in the negative. Justice Isa then asked Awan about how to proceed with the matter. Here, Justice Minallah remarked: “These are not recommendations or suggestions but a charge sheet.” After the AGP read the proposals out loud, CJP Isa observed, “We should not interfere in the high court’s work. The results of interference in high courts’ matters have not been good in the past.” Justice Minallah noted that the IHC judges had alleged “continuous meddling” and asked if their recommendations were unanimous. Awan replied that it seemed so, at which the judge observed that no judge had disagreed. The SC then ordered that the proposals made by the IHC judges be made public. Justice Isa said, “When everything is airing on the media, we may make this public as well.” When the chief justice asked if a high court was not empowered by the Constitution to implement the said suggestions, AGP Awan replied that it had the authority to take action on all the points. Justice Isa observed that the SC should limit itself to the high courts’ suggestions and not act on those made by every other person.
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former PM Abbasi and Engro leadership citing no proof. Here’s what happened.
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SHEIKH IMRAN AND MR ABBASI WILL NOT BE GETTING THE TIME THEY SPENT IN PRISON BACK. BUT ARE WE AT LEAST GOING TO LABEL THE REFERENCE AS THE WITCH HUNT IT WAS? PROFIT
ABDULLAH NIAZI
It’s a miracle just how long the National Accountability Bureau was able to drag this one out. But after six long years, the LNG reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Engro Chairman Hussain Dawood, former CEO of Engro Elengy Sheikh Imran ul Haque, and others has finally been withdrawn. The case is a glaring example of everything that is wrong with Pakistan’s accountability watchdog. On the one hand it became the reason for the imprisonment of Mr Abbasi. But the senseless and unjust incarceration of a former prime minister is everyday news in Pakistan. What makes the case a watershed moment in Pakistan’s legal history is that it saw the imprisonment of a major corporate sector CEO, Sheikh Imran ul Haque, for months without bail on incredibly vague charges that have now finally been dropped. And it wasn’t just Mr Abbasi and Sheikh Imran that were in the firing line. References were also filed not just against Engro’s octogenarian Chairman Hussain Dawood, but also against Board member Abdul Samad Dawood, and former two-time finance minister Mifath Ismail.
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