SC wants to resolve missing persons’ case, says CJP Isa
ISLAMABAD:The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of a case related to the duration of disqualification of public office holders under Article 62(1)(f) till Thursday, while during the hearing Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa remarked that “if all these conditions existed back then, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah would also be disqualified”.
Supreme Court of Pakistan has adjourned the lifetime disqualification case till Thursday(January 4).
A seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musrat Hilali is hearing the case.
At the outset of the hearing the proceedings of which were broadcast live on apex court’s website, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan appeared in the court and said that he was supporting the legislation to make the penalty of disqualification five years under Article 62(1)(f).
The Attorney General said that Nawaz Sharif’s lifetime disqualification decision should be reconsidered. He requested a re-examination of the decision on the interpretation of lifetime disqualification under Article 62 (1)(f).
The Chief Justice inquired, “Attorney General! What is your position that the Election Act should be followed or the decisions of the Supreme Court?”, to which the Attorney General replied that the court is requested to review the decision of lifetime disqualification. He said he would support the Election Act as it is a federal law.
During the hearing, Saqib Jilani, the lawyer of the petitioner against Mir Badshah Qaisrani, also opposed the lifetime disqualification. The lawyer said that he filed the application in 2018 when the decision of lifetime disqualification came under 62(1)(f). He said Section 232 has now been added to the Election Act, so he is not following the plea to the extent of lifelong disqualification.
On the other hand, the chief justice wondered how anyone could determine the character of other based upon the criteria set in said article of the Constitution, as he raised questions about the terms “Sadiq” [truthful] and “Ameen” [honest].
No one other than Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) could use the title of Sadiq and Ameen, he said and remarked that even Quaid-e-Azam would have been disqualified if the standards were applied to him.
In similar remarks, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah questioned how a court could give a declaration about character of an individual.
According to Chief Justice Isa, the two terms are creating confusion because of their ambiguous nature and the inability at practical level to implement the same, while no one can attain the highest level of character as per the standards set by Islamic principles. Moreover, the same ideals aren’t applied to people other than the parliamentarians.
He also observed that they could accept the amendment to Election Act because no one had challenged the same – an argument not seconded by the attorney general who was of the opinion that it might create an impression of overwriting the Supreme Court verdict through legislation.
More From Daily The Destination:
“Was Zia ul Haq above everyone and all his sins are forgiven? Was Zia ul Haq of good conduct?”, the CJP remarked.
He said every institution should work under their ambit.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court had taken notice of the inconsistency between the court decision and the Election Act, after which the case was scheduled for hearing today and a public advertisement was also issued in newspapers about the case.
Earlier.
Qazi Faez Isa has said that the Supreme Court wants to resolve the missing persons’ case and the matter will be resolved when everybody realizes and take responsibility, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
He said Pakistan belongs to all of us, even those who may have different points of view. “This matter will only be resolved when we all work together and take responsibility. Let’s make Pakistan strong from within. If Pakistan is strong from within, no outside forces can touch it,” the chief justice added.
CJP Qazi Faez Isa expressed these remarks while hearing petitions on missing persons and enforced disappearances on Tuesday.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Isa and comprising Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali heard the case.
ECP Appeals to Supreme Court Against PHC Ruling on RO Appointment
At the outset of the hearing, petitioner Khushdil Khan Malik said that the court should order the government to enact legislation related to forced disappearances.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar said that a commission related to forced disappearances has been formed, on which the Chief Justice asked which commission has been formed?
The petitioner argued that the Missing Persons Commission was formed under the chairmanship of Justice ® Javed Iqbal, but it has not done anything so far. The court should issue a notice to the government and ask why it has not enacted legislation regarding the missing persons for 50 years.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan remarked that how could the court order the Parliament to enact such and such legislation? Which Article of the Constitution allows the Court to order the Parliament to legislate? Every organization should stay within its limits.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar made it clear that the court does not have the power to legislate, it could only declare the law null and void.
At this juncture, Aitzaz Ahsan’s lawyer Shoaib Shaheen came to the rostrum.
The Chief Justice told him that he is not Aitzaz Ahsan’s lawyer, to which Shoaib Shaheen said that Latif Khosa’s son is under arrest, so he has been given a power of attorney.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan remarked that he is hearing the petitions by dismissing the objections as it is a matter of public interest, and the court wants to resolve the matter. He said that something happened in his absence and he has fixed these petitions for hearing as soon as he returned.
Lawyer Shoaib Shaheen said that the point of disappearance of people and then appearing in a way was raised, the court asked him what does he want the court to do, tell us your request. The lawyer said that the Commission on Missing Persons did not and could not do its work.
The Chief Justice inquired when this commission was made and whose government was there, Shoaib Shaheen said that the commission was formed in 2011 during the PPP government. The Chief Justice remarked that Aitzaz Ahsan wants to suspend the notification of his own government.
Shoaib Shaheen said that according to the commission’s report, 2,200 people are still missing. Justice Mian Muhammad Ali Mazhar said in his remarks that the report also states how many people were recovered.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.