Daily Times

Judges should remain impartial and above politics, regardless of how challenging or isolating it may be to apply specific laws dispassionately to individual cases. But what to do when the final arbiter of law succumbs to hyper-partisanship, turning into a chaotic circus?

After weeks upon weeks of speculations about the wishes of an outgoing Chief Justice to enjoy the power a little longer, his farewell dinner proved the entire exercise was much ado about nothing. However, since we are seldom in a business to learn from our mistakes, another drama was ready to hit the headlines after five of his colleagues conspicuously skipped the reception held in his honour. To put the point further across, the most puisne of them all, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, then proceeded with a terse letter, penning down his reservations with CJP Isa’s tenure amid a clear refusal to attend the court reference. While it seems understandable that those shouldered with the crucial responsibility of maintaining the credibility of the entire system may differ in their approaches, which, thanks to excessive meddling, suggestive vlogs and an abundance of people craving for controversies, can get messy in the blink of an eye, the legal order dictates it should not. Judges should be free of biases. From the standpoint of a common man, what among the populist rulings, political overreach or a neverending stream of cracks in the judicial system could give him the confidence to knock on the mighty doors if he needs justice?

From Chief Justice Saqib Nisar’s famous Panama ruling to Chief Justice Bandial’s midnight hearings to the Supreme Court setting sugar prices to halting construction projects, we have yet to come across a tenure unscathed by political divide lines of questions on boundaries or neutrality.

There is a lot that needs to be worked upon behind closed doors before these honourable men take their fights to the street. Pakistan’s judiciary is plagued by systemic issues such as delayed judgments, endless backlogs, and inconsistent rulings. The slow pace of the system has led to the infamous saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied,” a reality for many who wait years for resolution.

When did we see attention fixated on what the judges thought of the dysfunction within and the hefty price their fellow Pakistanis were being forced to pay in a broken system?

As always, and despite a long list of challenges, there still lurks a glimmer of hope for reforms. Depoliticising the courts, ensuring merit-based appointments, and insulating judges from external pressures are essential to restoring accountability.

Perhaps, by the time we see another full court ceremonial reference, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi has uttered the magic word, and his unwavering resolve to unite the house and rebuild public trust has helped the higher judiciary overcome its past shortcomings. One can only wish! *