Islamabad:
Since the bosses of all the higher courts have agreed to evolve a mechanism to end the external interference, the debate has begun on how effective the Superior Court will be to stop the strange influence without judging the 26th constitutional amendment, which, by admission, increased the influence of the Executive in the judicial appointments and the selection of constitutional banks (CBS).
The National Judicial Committee (policy formulation) (NJPMC), which includes all the main judges, praised on Monday to the higher courts for formulating SOP, standard operational procedures, by judicial independence. SOP is expected to notify soon.
Lawyers question how external interference can end when NJPMC members are beneficiaries of executive influence on the Judiciary.
There is a strong perception that, without executive support, nor a lawyer can be appointed judge or a judge of the Superior Court is elevated to the Apex court or a constitutional bank after the 26th constitutional amendment.
“There is an English language that fits perfectly here. It is when you close the stable door after the horse has screwed. Except here, the horse has not only screwed; the stable roof has also collapsed.
“Although I am glad of justice that gives the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) present at the meeting that decided once for once put an end to the threat of external interference,” said Abdul Moiz Jaferii, defender, defendant while commenting on the NJPMC meeting to safeguard the judges from the external pressure.
Another lawyer asked how independence can be ensured when judges who are not in the good books of the Executive have been marginalized and excluded from banks that listen to important cases.
The former additional attorney general Waqar Rana said that interference is only a demonstration of undermining judicial independence.
“When the appointments are subordinated to the Executive after the 26th amendment, the policy notification issued by the Supreme Court may seem like a farce for the legal community.
“The president of the Supreme Court, to really guarantee the independence of the Judiciary and the interference of stopping, must take the first backward step back and enumerate the case of amendment 26 before the full court. Anything else will be seen as a showcase,” he added.
Taking advantage of the delay in the award of the requests against the 26th amendment, the executive authorities have successfully induced more than three dozen judges in the higher courts.
There is also the perception that the cut of the courts of the courts has already taken place. The situation has also changed in the Superior Court after the amendment.
Similarly, the Executive initiated the transfer of judges from different courts to the IHC. The true purpose of these transfers, critics say, was to prevent a senior judge from becoming the president of the IHC Supreme Court.
Although the CJP Yahya Afridi had reservations about the age of the transferred judges, the Executive managed to appoint Judge Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz to give IHC CJ.
Despite its efforts, CJP Afridi could not ensure the approval of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for the appointment of Judge Miangul Hassan as the president of the Supreme Court of IHC.
Similarly, the government authorities opposed the appointment of the most senior judges of the Superior Court of Peshawar and the Superior Court of Baluchistan as main judges because they were not “of related ideas.”
Therefore, the government succeeded, and the most senior judges of both higher courts were replaced by the JCP for no valid reason.
Senior judges, including CJP Afridi, supported the elevation of the Court of the Superior Court of Lahore, Justice Justice, Aalia Neelum, to the Apex court. However, the government wanted it to continue as LHC CJ. Executive representatives in the JCP did not vote for their elevation.
The president of the Superior Court of the Court, Junaid Ghaffar, has not been selected for the CB in the Superior Court because the executive representatives in the JCP did not vote for him.
The most significant, the Executive ignored the two most senior judges of the Apex court for the appointment of the CJP because they were not aligned with the current regime.
Interestingly, the NJPMC has approved a committee that includes judges, the attorney general of Pakistan and the president of FBR to address prolonged litigation and precautionary measures in commercial, income and prosecutors.
Questions are being asked about the inclusion of the president of FBR in the Committee. Recently, the CJP Aphridi met with the Minister of Finance to discuss reforms related to taxes.
It is an open secret that the superior judiciary has not been able to deal with external interference since six IHC judges wrote to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) last year. From their letter, the judges have faced different forms of harassment, with complaints of power filed against them in the SJC.
A main lawyer said that the surrender in the case of the letter of the six judges laid the foundations, and the 26th constitutional amendment was a mere formality. When Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan was LHC CJ, he sent a report to the SC regarding the harassment of an ATC judge. The matter is still pending in the SC.
It is necessary to evaluate the performance of the Judiciary after the 26th amendment. The debate continues on the performance of the CBS.
