A Supreme Court statement on Tuesday confirmed the government’s plans for Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa’s ‘fixed tenure for three years’—a proposal that the incumbent CJP refused to accept.
It was Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who had come to CJP Isa in his chamber earlier this year and had stated that the government was considering making the position of the chief justice of Pakistan a “fixed tenure post for three years,” the top judge told reporters when asked about the extension of his tenure on Monday.
The CJP talked to them off-the-record after the conclusion of the proceedings as the new judicial year commenced. The attorney general for Pakistan, the Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman and the Supreme Court Bar Association president were invited to address and express their respective views which they did.
“The chief justice informed the journalists that he told the law minister, that if the proposal was individual specific, and if enacted, it would not be something he would accept,” said the press release.
The senior puisne judge and the attorney general were present at the meeting. The law minister also mentioned the Parliamentary Committee’s role which he said had been diminished, therefore, it was being considered to incorporate it, and the Judicial Commission, into one body. “To which the Chief Justice replied that it was Parliament’s prerogative, however, added that he hoped that those in opposition to the government would not be excluded.”
According to the press release, the law minister has since not met the CJP privately nor has had any discussion with the CJP regarding any such matter.
Law Minister Tarar spoke on the same wavelength while appearing on Spotlight with Munizae Jahangir which was aired on Aaj News on July 17. The meeting took place at the end of April.
He shared that CJP Isa maintained that it was the prerogative of Parliament and did not favour any such amendment. Tarar told him that there was no such thing under consideration, however, the government had concerns related to the appointment and retirement of judges.
The law minister said the CJP had advised him to also consult senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. The SC judge was of the view that it was Parliament’s prerogative and offered assistance in any legal development.
According to Tarar, such a decision across the country was being taken to “decrease the pension bill.”
There was a follow-up question attributed to something said by Adviser to the PM on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah with reference to the subject. CJP Isa replied that he had not met the “said gentleman and does not know what he had said, therefore, if there are any questions they should be addressed to him directly.”
In response to a query on the proposal to increase the number of Judges since the number of cases has increased, he said that “it was best if first the vacant positions were filled in.”
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At the end of Monday’s event, CJP Isa “addressed several points” raised by the earlier speakers, mentioned the steps taken by him and the members of various committees and other bodies and referred to the decisions of the Supreme Court to show the improvements that had been, and were being made, in the justice delivery system and how transparency and accountability have been ushered in.
The statement also stated that CJP Isa’s off-the-record conversation was “inaccurately broadcast and published and unnecessary sensationalism” created.
“Giving unnecessary attention and importance to individuals detracts from what is important - institutions - and it be ensured that they serve the people,” the apex court said.
