Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has expressed his discontent for the second time regarding a clarification issued by eight judges related to the reserved seats case.
This clarification asserts that amendments to the Elections Act 2017 do not affect the Supreme Court’s ruling from July 12 concerning reserved seats.
In an official note, the CJP conveyed his regret over the issuance of this clarification and has summoned explanations from the relevant court officers.
The clarification, authored by senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, underscores that the apex court’s July 12 order was intended to uphold the electorate’s right to proportional representation in reserved seats, as outlined in paragraphs (d) and (e) of Article 51(6) and paragraph (c) of clause (3) of Article 106 of the Constitution.
On Saturday, CJP Isa issued a new office note expressing concerns regarding a clarification made by eight judges on October 18, during which he was in the process of drafting a judgment. The CJP noted that he could not find the original document of this clarification in the case file.
The note highlighted that an assistant registrar (implementation) had sent a letter to both the Election Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf despite the absence of the original clarification. As a result, officials were instructed to explain why the notice was issued before being formally filed in the court.
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The webmaster, Asim Javed, was asked to clarify why the second clarification was uploaded to the SC’s website on October 18 without being officially filed.
This follows CJP Isa’s earlier inquiry on September 22, where he raised nine questions regarding the uploading of a previous clarification order from September 14. That order, issued by the same group of judges led by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, had criticized the ECP for not implementing the SC’s July 12 ruling, which declared PTI eligible for reserved parliamentary seats.
