Supreme Court judge calls it quits

ISLAMABAD: Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman of the Supreme Court tendered his resignation on Sunday, days after he was accused of making illegal appointments in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Neither the Supreme Court nor any government official confirmed the development, but his family confirmed that Justice Iqbal has posted his resignation from Lahore.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Justice Iqbal had a consulted his colleagues about tendering his resignation after the apex court’s September 26 judgment. However, his fellow judges had recommended him not to resign. “I Mr. Justice Iqbal Hameed Rehman, judge of the Supreme Court hereby resign from my office …,” he wrote in a letter addressed to President Mamnoon Hussain – a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune.

Justice Iqbal is the son of one of Pakistan’s most famous judges, Justice Hamoodur Rehman, who had compiled the inquiry report on the East Pakistan debacle.

Attorney-General Ashtar Ausaf Ali said the government has yet to receive the resignation. The legal community has appreciated Justice Iqbal’s step and expect other two other judges to follow suit.

After the adoption of the 18th constitutional amendment and establishment of the Islamabad High Court, Justice Iqbal was elevated as its first constitutional chief justice on January 3, 2011. Later, he was elevated as judge of the Supreme Court on February 25, 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2016.