Don’t recognise Zia as president: CJP Isa

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, during the hearing of the Faizabad sit-in case, remarked that he doesn’t recognise the late military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq as president, Geo News reported on Wednesday. During the hearing of the Faizabad sit-in case, Justice Faiz Isa, while addressing Ijaz-ul-Haq’s lawyer, said that he does not consider Zia-ul-Haq the President of Pakistan.

When the Attorney General revealed that Ijaz-ul-Haq’s lawyer had been asked to provide a written reply with an affidavit to withdraw the statement, the lawyer countered the Attorney General’s statement, denying that he had been asked to retract the statement. 

Ijaz-ul-Haq’s lawyer informed the court that his client had merely stated that his name should be removed from the verdict. Chief Justice Faiz Isa remarked that Ijaz-ul-Haq’s name was only mentioned in the report by intelligence agencies and it was not included in the verdict.

During the conversation, when Chief Justice Faiz Isa mentioned that Ijaz-ul-Haq is the son of former army chief Zia-ul-Haq, his lawyer replied that his father was also the President of Pakistan.

In response, the Chief Justice stated, “I do not consider Zia-ul-Haq the President of Pakistan. No one can become the president by force of arms. Do not call Zia the president again in this court.” The lawyer of Ijaz-ul-Haq, the son of former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq, asserted that it was documented in the Constitution that Zia-ul-Haq was the president.

Chief Justice Faiz Isa responded by saying that Zia-ul-Haq was the only person whose name was written in the Constitution. He had forced it in the Constitution that he was the president, but the time was not mentioned. He said Zia’s five years did not complete, asking if it was not a violation of the Constitution.