Daily Times

An esteemed former judge of the Supreme Court (SC) Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar declined the appointment as an ad-hoc judge, a day after another former SC judge Justice (retd) Mushir Alam rejected the offer for the same position.

Media reports revealed that while Justice Maqbool was initially supportive of the appointment, he withdrew citing personal and domestic reasons. Justice Maqbool expressed gratitude for the nomination but ultimately decided against accepting the prestigious role.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that Justice (retired) Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice (retired) Sardar Tariq Masood have expressed their willingness to take up the ad hoc judge positions, demonstrating their continued commitment to judicial service.

The issue surfaced following a letter from Justice (retired) Mushir Alam to Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, who also heads the Supreme Judicial Council overseeing these appointments. In his letter, Justice Alam expressed gratitude for the nomination but regretfully declined due to current circumstances.

In his correspondence, Justice Alam emphasized his respect for the Judicial Commission and the Supreme Court, acknowledging the trust placed in him.

Justice Alam cited disappointment with the social media campaign that emerged following his nomination as a significant reason for his decision. “The campaign on social media after the nomination of ad-hoc judges has been deeply discouraging,” the letter read. “In the current circumstances, I regret that I am unable to serve as an ad-hoc judge,” he conveyed. Expressing gratitude, Justice Alam wrote, “God has honoured me beyond my position…I am thankful to the Judicial Commission for the honour of being reappointed as an ad-hoc judge.”

However, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar has put his weight behind the recent government’s plan to impose a ban on the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP) proposal to appoint retired jurists in the Supreme Court as ad hoc judges, saying that the country’s Constitution allows such appointments.

Expressing his opinion in a statement on Thursday, the federal minister defended the JCP’s proposal, saying the ad hoc judges should be appointed.

The issue of invoking Article 6 against the Imran Khan-founded party’s leaders could be brought in the Parliament House for a debate by lawmakers, he added.

“There is a genuine case of Article 6 against the PTI leaders as the Constitution was violated by dissolving the [Nationa] Assembly in the presence of a no-confidence motion.”

The decision to ban the PTI, the law minister said, was not taken last year only to maintain the political environment.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa had nominated four judges – Justice (retd) Mushir Alam, Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqir, Justice (retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel, and Justice (retd) Sardar Tariq Masood – as ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court. However, two judges, Justice Mushir and Justice Baqir, have so far declined the offer.

The JCP, chaired by CJP Isa, is set to meet today (Friday) to consider the appointment of four retired apex court judges, according to the official note which describes the high pendency of cases as the reason for the appointment of ad hoc judges.