Daily Times

There is considerable weight, both moral and legal, in a written order of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Gulzar Ahmed, that Justice Qazi Faez Isa “should not hear matters involving the prime minister”. This was, of course, noted in the order on a petition concerning allegations that the prime minister distributed development funds among lawmakers. But since Justice Isa, in his personal capacity, has already filed a petition against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the CJ believes “it would not be proper” for the former to be involved in any cases that concern the country’ chief executive in order to “uphold the principle of un-biasness and impartiality”.

That much makes sense, especially from the point of view of the common man since the judiciary can never, in any way, be party to conflict of interest in any cases that come its way. After all, justice must not just be done but also seen to be done, which is one of the foundational principles of the legal system that the whole country must rely on since it is one of the most significant pillars of state. Yet the CJ’s step is not only unprecedented but also touches upon a number of very important issues that legal experts are already scrambling to address.

The common perception in the legal fraternity so far is that Justice Isa would not be able to hear any more cases related to the federal government in any way and some have gone so far as to say that something like this should have happened sooner. The judiciary is, without a question, one of the most sacrosanct of all national institutions and must never be allowed to become the cetnre of any kind of controversy whatsoever. Further clarification on the matter should be forthcoming soon enough. *