Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Tuesday once again clarified that the superior judiciary had no political agenda behind its remarks, observations or decisions.

Heading a three-member Supreme Court bench which is hearing a suo motu case pertaining to recent hike in the prices of medicines, the CJP said, “By God, we have no political agenda. Neither I nor any other judge of the apex court is getting dictation from anywhere.”

The CJP said he does not even like dealing with the political cases, however as a judge it is his duty to hear such cases too. He was apparently responding to the criticism being made and reservations being shown by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over what they say ‘unbecoming language’ being used in his remarks and rulings.

The chief justice said he just wanted that people are given their rights guaranteed in the constitution. He said public had the right to be provided with clean drinking water and unadulterated food stuff. He said he was an ordinary and the smallest lawyer of the country and even now he considered himself the smallest judge.

The CJP said that in a recent case related to pension of the retired bank employees, the court ordered increase in the pension from Rs 1,300 to Rs 8,000 for widows, enabling them to at least buy a painkiller for themselves. He said the court does not want anyone to bear any losses.

A few days earlier, the CJP, without naming any politician, had said that someone had objected to his remarks. He had clarified that he was fighting against the menace of social injustice. His justification had come a day after he handed down a judgment disqualifying ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif from heading the PML-N.

The CJP had conceded that the superior judiciary had detracted from its direction but ‘it was never too late to set the direction right’. He had also conceded that it was a fault on the part of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), headed by the chief justice himself, that references of misconduct against the judges of the superior courts were pending since long.

During the hearing, the chief justice noted that the increase in the prices of drugs could be made in accordance with the drug policy. A lawyer representing a pharmaceutical company stated that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) often changes the prices of drugs in violation of the policy.

The chief justice said that the apex court could not supervise everything, adding that it would provide guidelines to other courts as well. He said the guidelines would be aimed at discouraging unnecessary stay orders. He asked all the pharmaceutical companies to set a formula on prices and apprise the court about it.

Published in Daily Times, February 28^th 2018.