In a rare turn of events, the president of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and the Federal Minister of Finance and Income, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, have been found face to face, moving debate in legal circles on the property of such commitment. The meeting between the main office of the Judiciary and the Government’s economic rudder stressed the need for "coordinated efforts" between the Judiciary and the Executive to defend the rule of law and safeguard the rights of citizens. The unusual interaction, held without the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan present, was accompanied by an official photograph and a press release, a movement that many lawyers believe it was "incalculated for" and full of optics that blur the thin line between the Judiciary and the Executive. The meeting stressed the importance of coordinated efforts between the Judiciary and the Executive to defend the rule of law and safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens. Some experts point out that the CJP Aphridi and Aurengzeb are also former university classmates, emphasizing that the meeting should be seen in that regard. However, for many lawyers, such commitments are "against judicial norms"Particularly when the Federal Income Board (FBR), which operates under the Ministry of Finance, is one of the largest litigants before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, FBR disputes at the Center for Care, concerns are already high on the operation of alternative dispute resolution (ADRC) committees: organizations that work under the administrative control of the FBR to resolve issues related to taxes, especially those that involve state companies (SOES). Last month, a bank headed by the CJP Afridi ordered a suspension in the procedures in all pending cases before the ADRC. The court also marked concerns about how ADRC members were appointed, ordering the FBR to seek contributions from all interested parties before finishing the framework of the appointment. The matter will be heard again on September 8. A lawyer who represents a SOE argued that the ADRC mechanism had demonstrated "destructive" For such companies. "They are being crushed with taxes and have no remedy against ADRC," He said, claiming that billions of taxes in taxes had been recovered by force in June, without legally required notices, to meet the income objectives.
"All welcome companies are being destroyed," He added, while another lawyer argued that ADRC must operate independently and free from FBR’s influence to have credibility. Judicial independence is concerned since the approval of the 26th constitutional amendment, legal experts have expressed concern about what they see as a growing executive domain over the Judiciary. Even fiscal lawyers complain that the higher courts were offering little relief to people harmed by FBR orders. According to the reports, the Sindh Superior Court, for example, has delivered hundreds of judgments in favor of the FBR. In the SC, judges with experience in the income law are often not assigned to such matters. In this context, the optics of the CJP meeting, the Minister of Finance, has disturbed some lawyers, who fear that the incorrect signal to the commercial stakeholders whose cases expect the award in the Apex court can be sent. They argue that the main judge of the country should avoid creating any perception that the Judiciary and the Executive "On the same page" When it comes to income collection. However, it is also pertinent to mention that CJP Afridi has shown a will to participate in the entire political spectrum. In recent weeks, he has also met with PTI Omar Ayub and lawyer Gohar.
