In a frenzy of political maneuvering in Islamabad today, Pakistan is yet again precariously positioned in yet again another stand off. Today the President of Pakistan chose to elevate the chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Khwaja Sharif as a judge of the Supreme Court. The decision was taken and official notification issued without any consultation with Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, prompting him to take a suo motu notice of the judges’ appointment.
This stand-off happened more in the form of a tit-for-tat snub reaction by the President of Pakistan to the Chief Justice of Pakistan. It was in the same token, approximately three weeks back the CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry tried to appoint Justice Ramday as an ad hoc judge to the Supreme Court but then the President had snubbed this appointment and rejected the request quoting seniority issues. So today when the President tried to elevate a Lahore High Court judge into the Supreme Court, CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry reacted to quickly create a three-member bench and it in turn struck down the order declaring it null and void. Its scary to even begin to imagine that in such a stand-off situation we probably might never have any more judicial appointments as one or the other executive appointed with Pakistan will end up striking it down.
Continue Reading