ISLAMABAD –Maqbool Baqir, a retired justice, has declined to serve as an ad hoc judge on the Supreme Court.
In his statement on Thursday, he stated, “I am not joining the SC as an ad hoc judge due to personal reasons.”
He is the second judge to renounce the role of ad hoc judge on the country’s top court. Previously, retired Supreme Court Justice Mushir Alam refused to accept the ad hoc judge offer.
Justice Baqir stated that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) is working with honesty and good intentions. The Chief Justice’s decision to appoint ad hoc judges to the Supreme Court is entirely legal and constitutional.
He opened up: “Qazi Faez Isa had discussed this matter with him as SC is being overloaded with political cases.”
Baqir indicated that hundreds of cases were waiting before the Supreme Court, and the appointment of ad hoc justices at this time was intended to address the backlog.
He stated that Justices Tariq Masood Khosa and Mazhar Alam Miankhel were extremely qualified and honest.
Justices Tariq Masood Khosa, Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Maqbool Baqir, and Mushir Alam were named to the Supreme Court as ad hoc judges, however Baqir and Alam declined the invitation.
Justice Mushir Alam
Mushir Alam, a retired Supreme Court judge, has earlier refused to serve as an ad hoc judge for a three-year tenure.
In a letter to the Judicial Commission, Alam wrote, “God has honored me beyond my position…”I am grateful to the Judicial Commission for the privilege of being reappointed as an ad hoc judge.”
He stated that he “is now engaged in welfare work” after serving in the judiciary for 22 or 23 years. “Given the current circumstances, I am unable to serve as an ad hoc judge,” he said.
On the other side, retired Justice Sardar Tariq Masood has accepted to join the Supreme Court as an ad hoc judge. Another retired judge, Mazhar Alam Miankhel, declared his willingness to serve as an ad hoc judge.
On July 19, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) will meet to select four ad hoc Supreme Court justices “to reduce the backlog of cases and provide timely justice to the litigants.”
PTI CHALLENGE MOVE
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has declared that it will petition the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to protest the appointment of ad hoc justices to the supreme court, describing the move as “tantamount to denouncing the freedom of judiciary”.
The government defends its decision.
Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar, on the other hand, backed the appointment of ad hoc judges, claiming that the constitution allowed it and that they are appointed by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan rather than the Chief Justice.
