‘Post-Oct 25 SC won’t do any misadventure’

ISLAMABAD: Post-Oct 25 Supreme Court will not do any “misadventure” as apprehended by the ruling political parties — this is what has been discussed in interactions between political leaders.

An informed source said that this has been conveyed by a legal mind to some of the top political leaders presently involved in discussions over the constitutional package to reform the appointments in the top judiciary and to establish a Federal Constitution Court.

The source said that the legal mind being quoted has access to the superior court judges.The legal personality, who was approached by The News, also confirmed this on condition of not being named. He lamented that some apex court judges have been unnecessarily made controversial.

Though many in politics, media and legal fraternity see the decision in reserved seats case as weak, the source insisted that the Supreme Court after October 25 would not do any “misadventure”.

After the July 12 decision of the Supreme Court in the reserved seats case, the government apprehends that the post-October 25 Supreme Court could audit the February 8election to oust the Shehbaz Sharif government paving the way for the PTI regime. Interestingly, some PTI leaders, including Imran Khan, also expect the same from the post-October 25 apex court.

The government’s fear furthered when eight judges of the SC issued a clarification/order in the reserved seats case on September 14 when the government and its allies were all set to move a constitutional amendment package in the parliament.

The timing of the clarification was questioned by the ruling political parties. The PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto recently cautioned that any delay beyond Oct 25 in getting the 26th constitutional amendment passed would lead to a face-off between institutions, leaving parliament at the losing end.

Bilawal also criticised the judiciary’s timing regarding certain actions, questioning why the timing of the injunction on reserved seats was not being scrutinized. He pointed out the judiciary’s four-page clarification issued on September 14, the day of a parliamentary session, which raised questions about the judiciary’s timing.

Later Bilawal also said that he respects both Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and that is a matter of record, but “I don’t have the confidence that [Justice] Mansoor Ali Shah Saab will be able to control the other judges on his Supreme Court”.

Some of the judges have proved several times in the 63-A Practice and Procedure case that they attempted to go beyond their constitutional limits to achieve their political objectives, Bilawal said in an interview with a private TV channel last week.

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also recently expressed apprehensions regarding the potential audit of the 2024 elections following changes in the judiciary, referring to the retirement of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on the 25th of this month.