Pakistan’s judiciary and the Supreme Court Bar Association raged on Saturday over allegations of interference in judicial matters by the country’s security institutions, with the chief justice of the Lahore High Court asserting that the judiciary in the country never takes instructions from other institutions.
Addressing a gathering at the Asma Jehangir Conference in Lahore titled Role of Judiciary in Protecting Human Rights and Strengthening Democracy, Justice Gulzar Ahmed said that the judiciary is functioning independently and there is no interference in it.
He said, ‘I have not taken the pressure of any institution nor have I listened to any institution. No one tells or guides me how to write my verdict. I have never taken any decision that I did it at the behest of someone else and no one has the courage to say anything to me.
He strongly denied that the judiciary was being influenced by other institutions or taking dictation from them.
His statements came as part of his speech during the event, where Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association president Ali Ahmed Kurd, without speaking, alleged that security institutions were influencing the top judiciary.
“A general dominates a country of 220 million people. The same general has sent the judiciary to number 126. [in rankings]Referring to the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2021, on which Pakistan is ranked 126th in the category of Fundamental Rights.
Justice Ahmed said that no one interfered in his work and that he decided the cases on merit.
“I’ve never heard, seen, understood or felt anybody talk,” he said.
“My court gives justice to the people. Come to the court of Ali Ahmed Kurd and see what is happening. Read the court’s decision and see what is happening. my judges write judgments every day […] See how our court is working with independence and abiding by the law and implementing the Constitution,” he said.
Interestingly, speaking on the same platform before Chief Justice Ahmed, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah acknowledged that some of the Kurdish criticisms were legitimate, adding that in cases such as the Nusrat Bhutto case and the Zafar Ali Decision. Shah’s case was a part of history.
“These decisions were responsible for making and enabling those who have been referred by Mr. Ali Ahmed Kurd,” Justice Minallah said.
Justice Minallah further observed that the judiciary “should not bury its head in the sand and ignore its mistakes”.
The Supreme Court had on different occasions upheld the military takeover of Pervez Musharraf in the 1977 Ziaul Haq case and the Zafar Ali Shah case in 1999 in the Nusrat Bhutto case.
The former Chief Justice of Gilgit-Baltistan said in an affidavit that the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar, in 2018 put pressure on an IHC judge to deny bail to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif till the general elections are over. The judiciary has come under new pressure. ,
The three-time prime minister, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were convicted in the Avenfield property case on July 6, 2018. Sharif was also sentenced to seven years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case in December 2018. But Sharif was granted bail in both the cases and was also allowed to go to London for treatment.
,