Islamabad: The government got another victory in the Judicial Commission meeting, when the proposal to nominate all Supreme Court judges to constitutional bench was rejected by a majority of 7 to 6.
The judicial members of the commission, including Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, wanted all judges to be nominated to constitutional benches, but their proposal was not accepted by the government representatives. Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel wanted all judges to be nominated to constitutional bench.
PTI’s Barristers Gohar and Ali Zafar supported their position, but Justice Aminuddin Khan did not support the nomination of all judges.
Similarly, Akhtar Hussain, a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council, also did not endorse it. Former Additional Attorney General Waqar Rana said that this is a regrettable decision, the independence of the judiciary has been completely destroyed, the representatives of the Pakistan Bar Council always vote in a group style.
The performance of the current constitutional bench is disappointing and devoid of judicial power. Later, a vote was taken on the extension of the current constitutional bench.
The majority of members endorsed the extension of the term of the current constitutional bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan by 6 months, but did not agree to formulate rules regarding the nomination of judges.
Earlier, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, being a member of the commission, had stressed that the proposed rules should provide a procedure and criteria for the nomination and determination of the number of judges for the constitutional benches of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
Salahuddin Ahmed, former president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, says that the government has finally got its way and this special bench will hear all the cases close to the heart of the government.
The imaginary symbol of separation between the government and the judiciary has also been thrown into the air. It is time for all judges to re-examine their role in allowing the judiciary to become a subordinate department of the government.
Similarly, the Pakistan Bar Council should also emphasize its commitment to an independent judiciary rather than loyally following the government’s position. The approved rules will be made public on the Supreme Court’s website tomorrow.
