Justice Isa out of benches ‘unfortunate’: PTI leader

ISLAMABAD: A PTI leader said Tuesday that a bench of senior judges should be formed to hear cases related to constitutional matters, and not including Justice Qazi Faez Isa — one of the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court — in the benches was “unfortunate”.

In his address to a seminar of the Islamabad High Court Bar, PTI leader Hamid Khan, without naming any cases, said that judges should keep their personal differences aside.

The PTI leader said that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah is in line to become a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), but he is not being included in it.

Khan said that despite Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh being a senior judge, he isn’t being elevated to the top court.

“Bypassing senior judges and appointing junior judges will have adverse implications [...] why isn’t Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah being appointed [to the SC]?” he questioned.

He pointed out that a seventh judge is being elevated to the SC from the Lahore High Court, but no judge is being appointed to the top court from the IHC.

“Is this your justice?” he asked, without naming anyone. He demanded that the JCP’s session — which is expected to be held on July 28 — be postponed to a later date and asked that the representation of every high court should be seen in the SC.

He appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to ensure that justice is being served.

“Judges can have a difference of opinion, but the respect of the Supreme Court should be upheld,” he said, asking that if the person responsible for dispensing justice is not ensuring it happens in their institution, how could they serve the people.

“We want judges’ appointments to the SC based on seniority,” he said.

In his address to the seminar, former federal minister and PTI leader Asad Umar said that the politicians should be able to resolve their matters amicably.

However, the senior PTI leader noted that if they fail to do so, the need arises for an intervention of a third party.