Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed on Saturday asserted that the country’s judiciary was free and impervious to external influences, with judges not taking dictation from other institutions.

The chief justice said this in response to comments made by former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Ali Ahmad Kurd, during the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore.

“I have never delivered a judgement under anyone’s influence. Every verdict that I have delivered is based on legality and my conscience in clear,” he said, adding that no one has the gumption to influence his verdict or those of other judges serving under him.

Kurd had earlier criticised the judiciary for subservience towards the armed forces. He said this during a discussion titled "Role of Judiciary in Protecting Human Rights and Strengthening Democracy" at the conference in memory of Pakistan’s pre-eminent human rights activist.

"One general is dominating a country of 220 million people. Either he will have to come down or people will have to go up [...] this same general has sent the judiciary down to number 126 [in rankings]," he said, possibly referring to World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index 2021, on which Pakistan ranks 126th in the category of fundamental rights.

GJP Gulzar was unequivocal in his response to Kurd, stating that he "absolutely did not agree" with the assessment made by the senior lawyer. He rubbished the allegation that "our courts are not free" and that "we are working under someone's pressure or of the institutions."

"At least I do not remember any such instance," the chief justice rebuked.