Tag: SC

  • VIDEO: Qazi Faez Isa runs late for farewell because of ‘boy getting facial’ at barber

    VIDEO: Qazi Faez Isa runs late for farewell because of ‘boy getting facial’ at barber

    Chief Justice Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa apologised for reaching late at his farewell dinner ceremony on Thursday night, saying that he came late because “I went for a haircut.”

    “I usually have a habit of arriving early, but Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan suggested that I should get a haircut before attending the event. When I went to get the haircut, a young man was getting a facial, which resulted in a delay,” Qazi Faez Isa stated while addressing the farewell dinner.

    The farewell dinner was hosted by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Thursday night.

    Qazi Faez Isa further remarked that he had been working since 1982 and used to take leaves for months, but it had been a while since he had taken off.

    Meanwhile, during the full court reference to honour CJP Qazi Faez Isa today, the court witnessed his last laugh as the head of the Apex Court when Justice Yahya Afridi humorously narrated the expenses of the farewell lunch.

    “Now to my commitment, sir, this is the formal announcement that the farewell lunch today is not at government expense; he is being cruel and imposed the entire expenses on me; however, I requested my brother judges to share the brunt,” Yahya Afridi claimed, and court attendees burst into laughter.

    “He was adamant and stubborn and was in no mood to accept farewell lunch on government expenses; he agreed only when we committed the expenses,” Justice Yahya announced.

    Qazi Faez Isa is retiring today, and Justice Yahya Afridi, third on the seniority list, will take the oath of Chief Justice of Pakistan on Saturday (tomorrow).

  • President approves Practice and Procedure Amendments Ordinance

    President approves Practice and Procedure Amendments Ordinance

    President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance after the federal cabinet approved the bill.

    According to the ordinance, in the absence of a committee member, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) will be able to nominate a judge as a committee member, The News has reported.

    The ordinance reads, “Each case and appeal will be recorded, and its transcript will be prepared, which will be available to the public, and each case will be heard on its turn; otherwise, reason will be given if the court hears case out of turn.”

    The ordinance also says that court benches will look into cases in light of fundamental human rights and public importance.

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had passed the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 in a bid to ensure transparent proceedings within the apex court and to safeguard the right to appeal.

    However, Supreme Court’s eight member bench, which was chaired by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, stayed the bill due to several petitions challenging it.

  • Did CJP Isa really seek an extension? X exchange settles the debate

    Did CJP Isa really seek an extension? X exchange settles the debate

    An interesting exchange occurred between The News’ journalist Fakhar Durrani and lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii on X, formerly Twitter, regarding the alleged “judicial package” or extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.

    The exchange between the two started when Abdul Moiz took to X to condemn Senator Irfan Siddiqui’s recent op-ed in Jang magazine commending Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who is the next in line to become the CJP.

    Moiz wrote, “This soft signalling by the PMLN through irfan sb of their acceptance of SMASH as CJP is frankly too little and too late. Not that it would have made a difference to begin with.”

    Fakhar Durrani disagreed with Moiz saying, “Jaferii bhai my humble suggestion, if someone’s propaganda is exposed they should accept their mistake gracefully instead of blaming others that they have failed.”

    He further said that Express Tribune’s court reporter Hasnat Malik was the first to report in a May 16 article that CJP Isa did not want an extension.

    Jafrii took Fakhar’s bait, asking him why Hasnat has consistently reported about the alleged judicial package.

    Fakhar Durrani replied, “Have you relied on the sourced material which he published on Express Tribune? Is there any report published in Express Tribune which resulted in shaping your opinion that QFE is adamant to get extension? Or you are solely relying on his YouTube reports?”

    He stated that journalists must follow a code of conduct and editorial policies when publishing on a credible platform. In contrast, YouTube is an “unchecked platform where there’s no editorial check and balance.”

    Jafrii sarcastically replied that one cannot deem a source credible and non-credible simultaneously, referring to Hasnat Malik’s stories.

    Fakhar then replied in detail, saying, “As a lawyer, whatever you say in the street/outside courtroom, can you repeat the same before the court? Every profession has some set of principles, ethics and code of conduct.”

    Durrani further stated, “The same applies to journalism. When you report for your official media organisation, you have to follow certain principles and answer your editors’ questions. Most of the time, you have to prove your story with evidence before the editors, and then it gets published.”

    Abdul Moiz did not back down and replied, “It is because of the YouTube journalism of @HasnaatMalik @Matiullahjan919 @AsadAToor @saqibbashir156 @AhmedASarfraz @SohailRashid8 and co that qazi sb became chief. Their journalism today has allowed the legal fraternity and the judiciary to galvanise together and see the forest for the trees.”

    Fakhar Durrani then replied in detail to YouTuber Matiaullah Jan’s dialogue with reporters Hasnaat Malik and Saqib Bashir and the image of a letter by CJP Isa dated August 28 in which he explicitly stated that he wanted the meeting regarding High Court Justices on May 3, but due to majority opinion, it was deferred.

    He asked, “Do you think these journalists can’t read the minutes of the meeting or a letter. They do. But even then they are trolling and propagating that QFE deferred the meeting because he wants to get extension. Lastly. I never get excited. One can argue when you come up with logic. If a learned lawyer like you start labeling any dissenting voice as if they are in sync with establishment, there will be no debate.”

  • CJ-led SC bench reinstates three PML-N leaders’ NA membership

    CJ-led SC bench reinstates three PML-N leaders’ NA membership

    A three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, restored the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order to recount three Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members constituency results while reinstating them.

    The SC bench declared the Lahore High Court’s decision null and void while hearing the recount petitions of three different polling stations of NA-154, NA-81, and NA-79.

    However, the decision was made with a majority of 2-1, with Justice Aqeel Abbasi issuing a dissenting note.

    The court reinstated the election commission’s decision regarding the recount of votes for three PML-N members: Azhar Qayyum Nahra, Abdul Rehman Kanju, and Zulfiqar Ahmed.

  • ‘Only parliament can alter constitution, not SC’; Sanaullah on reserved seats ruling

    ‘Only parliament can alter constitution, not SC’; Sanaullah on reserved seats ruling

    The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political & Public Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, commented on the recent Supreme Court verdict on the reserved seats case, saying, “The judiciary cannot alter the constitution, but parliament can.”

    In a significant legal victory for the Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the “party is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats”.

    Sanaullah criticised the top court’s verdict, saying that it “violated Article 51” and relevant clauses that clearly bound independent candidates to join political parties within three days after elections.

    He also disapproved of the ruling granting an additional two weeks to process the independent candidates’ affiliations to their desired political parties.

    The senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader also stated that the verdict would be “opening the front gate for horse-trading.”

  • SC full court to hear petition on reserved seats today

    SC full court to hear petition on reserved seats today

    A full court bench of the Supreme Court (SC) will hear the petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) today challenging the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision that denied it reserved seats for women and minorities. 

    As per the report of senior court reporter Hasnaat Malik, the apex court will also decide about the live streaming of today’s hearing in the reserved seats case.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa will lead the 13-member full court bench; however, Justice Musarrat Hilali will not be the part of  bench after falling ill.

    On May 6, the apex court suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to allocate SIC’s reserved seats to other parties.

  • Tehreek e Namoos Pakistan sends threatening letters to SC

    Tehreek e Namoos Pakistan sends threatening letters to SC

    After arriving at the doorsteps of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, letters containing suspicious powdery substance and threatening messages have been sent to the four Supreme Court (SC) judges – including Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

    Importantly, on the same day four judges of Lahore High Court received the threatening letter as well containing suspicious powdery substance.

    The suspicious powder was suspected to be anthrax.

    The letter sent to the SC jurists read, “You people at the Supreme court of Pakistan are pretending to do justice since the inception of this country. Year after year this country is pluming into chaos, poverty, corruption and disorder. SCP was supposed to be the final and ultimate check for all that is wrong in our holy country instead it became very part of the problem and rescuer of evil.”

    It further said, “Judges, Generals and politicians are the curse and disease of motherland. We Tehreek e Namoos e Pakistan say NO More…”

    Tehreek e Namoos Pakistan (TNP) is a relatively new militant group whose name emerged once before last year. It was when a team of the Wild Life Department discovered explosives and maps related to sensitive installations of the Red Zone at Margalla hills, on Trail 5 of Islamabad, September 17 2023.

  • Political rallies are not terrorism: SC

    Political rallies are not terrorism: SC

    The Supreme Court granted bail to five suspects nominated cases pertaining to May 9 riots.

    A three-member bench led by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and comprising Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Mussarat Hilali on Wednesday took up bail applications of the accused suspects nominated under various laws including the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997 for rioting and vandalizing Hamza Camp in Rawalpindi.

    Last year, nationwide protests and riots took place on May 9 after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from the premises of Islamabad High Court. Social media feeds were filled with videos showing acts of vandalism all over the country.

    During the hearing, Justice Mandokhail asked, “How is carrying out rallies [equivalent to] terrorism?”
    Justice Mandokhail asked the authorities whether they were aware of the conditions under which Anti-Terrorism Act could be enacted.

    “Recently, an incident of terrorism occurred in which officers were martyred [in North Waziristan]. The attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School was an act of terror. The suicide attack on lawyers in Quetta was an act of terror.”

    Justice Mandokhail criticized the authorities and asked, “Is carrying out rallies or being a worker of a political party a crime?”

    The Judge also emphasized that banning political parties and student unions had gotten the country to this point.
    The SC later granted bail to the suspects by accepting their bail requests against surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

  • FIA arrests Asad Toor in connection with campaign against judges

    FIA arrests Asad Toor in connection with campaign against judges

    Prominent journalist Asad Ali Toor was arrested on Monday by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in connection with a campaign against Supreme Court (SC) judges, including Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

    His counsel, Imaan Mazari confirmed the arrest to Geo.tv.

    Last month, the caretaker government formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprised of six members to investigate a negative campaign against judges of apex court. 

    Imaan Mazari told Geo.tv that FIA officials detained Toor for eight hours on Friday, February 23 after he appeared before the JIT for questioning, even though he hadn’t received a formal notice as per the standard procedure.

    “We went to high court on Monday in the morning, and the chief justice, even though I specifically told him about the eight-hour detention and that there’s a real apprehension of arrest because they have threatened us as well, said that he cannot do anything based on apprehensions,” she added.

    After the hearing in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Mazari stated that she went to the FIA office at 4:46 pm while Asad was being interrogated inside.

    On Tuesday morning, Asad was presented before the magistrate, however, his lawyers were not present there.

  • Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar wants to rejoin PTI

    Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar wants to rejoin PTI

    Senior politician Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar is reportedly seeking a return to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as per Geo News.

    Having previously been associated with the PTI, Sarwar, currently the chief organizer of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), parted ways with Imran Khan’s party during last year’s no-confidence motion in April, leaving when Imran Khan was ousted from the prime minister’s office.

    In March this year, Sarwar joined the PML-Q in the presence of its president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
    In December 2021, Sarwar slammed Khan’s government by saying that the PTI had handed over everything to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    During the no-confidence motion, Sarwar, as the chief organizer of the PML-Q, defied Khan’s orders and explored the possibility of joining the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    However, this idea was rejected by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, citing Sarwar’s earlier defection to the PTI after the failed 2014 sit-in led by Khan and Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri.

    Sarwar joined the PML-Q in March of the current year, assuming the role of chief organizer.

    However, he has been residing in Scotland since several months, showing little interest in party affairs.

    Despite initial hopes of the PML-Q gaining prominence, especially without Parvez Elahi and Moonis Elahi, it appears that Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan’s Istehekam Pakistan Party (IPP) is currently the frontrunner.

    Sources reveal that Sarwar, for the past two weeks, has been reaching out to PTI leaders directly and indirectly, discussing his potential return to the party from his base in Scotland.

    A senior PTI leader disclosed that Sarwar had expressed a desire to rejoin the party, but the PTI has not responded to the overtures thus far.

    “The only person who can allow re-entry of Chaudhary Sarwar is Imran Khan but he has made it clear he will not forgive and forget those dozens of leaders who let him down in difficult times. Those who lobbied against Imran Khan and the PTI are not acceptable.”

    Chaudhary Sarwar wants to join the PTI again because his family members want to run for elections on the party’s tickets in Faisalabad, as there are no seats vacant in PML-N ranks and no other option, said a source close to Sarwar.

    The source also said that the senior politician’s son Anas, the Scottish Labour leader, also has an election coming up in Glasgow and there is a considerable Pakistani vote in the local constituency.

    Another source said that so far the PTI had not shown any interest in the offer and it had no time to even consider it given the circumstances the PTI was facing in Pakistan.

    When asked about efforts to rejoin the PTI, Sarwar didn’t deny it.

    He said: “All options are on the table. Discussions at various levels are ongoing. I have not made a final decision yet. I will make the final decision soon.”

    Sarwar joined PTI in 2015 after criticising Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, days after resigning as the Punjab governor. However, he was appointed to the post for a second time once the PTI came to power in 2018.

    Sarwar’s allies said he was not happy as Punjab governor and didn’t like Usman Buzdar. He was sacked from the post around the no-confidence vote by the PTI government, with Omer Sarfraz Cheema being appointed as his replacement.