Govt picks ex-IHC judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui as NIRC chairman

The federal cabinet on Monday appointed former Islamabad High Court (IHC) senior puisne judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui as National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) chairman. 

The notification of Siddiqui's appointment as chairman for the next three years was issued after the cabinet's nod.

The development comes months after President Asif Ali Zardari gave his nod to issue a retirement notification to the former IHC judge in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

Siddiqui was sacked by former president Arif Alvi as judge of the IHC on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council (SCJ) in October 2018.

However, in March this year, the top court declared the removal of Justice Siddiqui illegal, directing that he may now be considered as a retired judge.

The decision was announced by a five-member bench of the apex court headed by then chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Fazi Isa in a 23-page judgment.

The bench noted that the SJC proceeded against Justice Siddiqui on the "assumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations levelled" by the former judge was "irrelevant".

Justice Siddiqui's removal

The SJC had moved against the judge over a controversial speech before the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi on July 21, 2018.

Justice Siddiqui in his speech blamed the higher judiciary for the country's "deplorable" state of affairs.

The judge had also alleged that then-Major General Faiz Hamid and his subordinates wanted cases related to Faizabad sit-in, Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam be decided in a "particular manner".

The army had also reacted to the speech and had requested the Supreme Court to initiate "appropriate process to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and take actions accordingly".

In October 2018, then-president Alvi removed Siddiqui from the post of IHC judge in light of a recommendation by the SJC.

The recommendation stated: “Mr. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Judge, Islamabad High Court, Islamabad had displayed conduct unbecoming of a Judge of a High Court and was, thus, guilty of misconduct and he is, therefore, liable to be removed from his officer under Article 209(6) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.”

Justice Siddiqui then challenged the SJC decision in the Supreme Court in the October of the same year.