Senior most: Pick for CJP as per constitution, says Asif

ISLAMABAD: Justice Saqib Nisar has been elevated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan strictly on merit and in accordance with the Constitution, said Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

Asif issued a statement in defence of the government’s decision to appoint Justice Saqib Nisar as the chief justice.

He said the smear campaign on social media has been designed to undermine certain offices which function independently. He said the elevation of the judges of the superior judiciary was made purely in accordance with the constitutional mandate and command.

The minister said certain quarters which are notorious in maligning others in order to justify their existence have now started to malign the highest judicial office of the state.  Asif said Justice Saqib Nisar was elevated to the position of the Chief Justice of Pakistan in accordance with Article 175A (3) of the Constitution which provided that the senior most judge be appointed as the CJP. “The government or the Prime Minister have no role in his appointment. The appointment of any other person would have been unconstitutional,” he maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2017.