Senator Ali Zafar, a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, has written a letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, requesting the postponement of the commission’s upcoming meeting.
In his letter, Zafar urged that the session be deferred until the issue of seniority in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) is resolved. He highlighted concerns over the recent transfer and posting of judges, which have altered the IHC’s seniority list, warning that such developments could have significant implications for the justice system.
Zafar further suggested that these judicial changes appeared to be part of a deliberate effort to influence the legal proceedings involving Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan.
Senator Zafar proposed that postponing the Judicial Commission meeting until the seniority issue is resolved would be appropriate. Alternatively, if the meeting is unavoidable, the recently transferred judges should not be considered, he wrote.
A day earlier, four judges of the apex court have written a letter to the chief justice, demanding the postponement of the Judicial Commission meeting scheduled for February 10.
They stated that the appointment of new judges should be halted until the 26th Constitutional Amendment case is decided.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Athar Minallah authored the letter.
In the letter, the judges urged that at the very least, appointments should be delayed until the constitutional bench decides on the request for a full court. They also stated that new judicial appointments should be put on hold until the seniority of Islamabad High Court judges is determined.
The letter highlighted that the constitutional bench might call for a full court in the 26th Amendment case, which could create a dispute over which judges would constitute the full court.
The judges pointed out that three judges were transferred to the Islamabad High Court, and according to the Constitution, they were required to take a fresh oath.
The letter argued that without taking the oath, the status of these judges remains questionable. Despite this, the seniority list of Islamabad High Court judges has already been altered.
The judges warned that bringing in new judges under the current circumstances would create an impression of “court packing.” They questioned why the judiciary was being put in this situation.
The judges directly asked the chief justice whose agenda and interests were being served by placing the court in this situation.
Source: Dunya News
