Islamabad: The judicial selection process has been delayed by the confirmation by members of the Sunni Ittehad Council and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that they will not be part of the legislative committee to select the country’s new Chief Justice.
On Tuesday, the decision was communicated after a meeting in the speaker’s chamber between members of the parliamentary panel and PTI-SIC representatives.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and other committee members tried to persuade the PTI members to come. Barrister Gohar Ali Khan revealed that their political committee had decided not to participate.
Gohar Ali Khan stated, after discussions in Speaker Sadiq’s office, “We have made our decision. We will not be part of this committee’s meetings.” Members of the special parliamentary committee met with the speaker earlier in the day to talk about the lingering impasse.
A four-person committee was established to persuade PTI members to the meeting. The committee includes Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Ansar, Raja Pervez Ashraf, and Kamran Murtaza. The boycott persists despite these initiatives.
Since the legislative committee is in charge of choosing the next Chief Justice, the boycott is viewed as a major step forward in the selection process. The process has become more difficult because of the absence of important political players, especially PTI, which has expressed displeasure with recent court rulings.
The leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, had previously contacted Asad Qaiser of the PTI to ask for his party’s involvement in an effort to break the impasse. However, there is still ambiguity about PTI’s role because Qaiser asked for additional time to confer with party leadership.
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The committee’s meeting, which was originally planned to consider the three senior most judges proposed for the position of Chief Justice—Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Yahya Afridi—has been postponed because of the absence of PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council members.
The committee is still committed to going forward with the judicial appointment process despite the setback, but it is coming under increasing pressure to ensure that its ultimate decision is inclusive.
The committee already received three names from the Supreme Court Registrar. Among them are Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
One of the nominees—who represents the Supreme Court’s three most senior justices—will be chosen to replace Qazi Faez Isa, the current Chief Justice.
The submission also contained a one-page report that summarized the judges’ biographies, including their dates of birth, educational backgrounds, legal professions, and the dates of their elevation to the Supreme Court and appointment as chief justices of the high courts.
The Secretary of Law and Justice provided the committee with the profiles and credentials of the judges who had been nominated. Nevertheless, the meeting was postponed until 8:30 p.m. that same day due to the absence of PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council members.
The current political tensions surrounding the appointment of the Chief Justice, a position that has become more politicized in recent years, are highlighted by the PTI members’ absence from the meeting.
PTI may be reluctant to take part since it is unhappy with the current political system, particularly after a number of court rulings in recent months have ruled against the party.
The selection of the next head of Pakistan’s judiciary will be decided by the committee, therefore its discussions are important. The committee is in charge of making the final choice once the three most senior judges are shortlisted for the post under the new procedure.
The Prime Minister will convey the chosen judge’s name to the President for formal appointment after the committee has made a decision.
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This new procedure, which was brought about by recent Constitutional revisions, differs from the previous one in which the Chief Justice position would be automatically assumed by the senior most judge.
Concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary have been raised by this shift, which is perceived as a part of a larger government push to have more control over judicial nominations.
Since the choice of the next Chief Justice is anticipated to have a significant impact on Pakistan’s judicial and political environment, legal professionals and political analysts are keenly monitoring the developments.
Others in the legal community perceive the parliamentary committee’s engagement as a necessary change to promote accountability, while others see it as a possible danger to judicial independence.
