57% commend CJP’s performance

Gallup & Gilani survey carried out between August 27 and Sept 3

ISLAMABAD : The performance of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has been widely supported by the people of the country.

According to a Gilani Research Foundation Survey carried out by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, 57 per cent of the respondents rate the CJP’s performance in the past one year as commendable.

A nationally representative sample, with men and women from across the four provinces, was asked, “What is your opinion about CJP Nisar’s performance in one year?”

In response to the question, 32 per cent said it was very good, 25 per cent said it was good and 11 per cent said it was appropriate. Besides, for 14 per cent the CJP’s performance was bad and for 13 per cent it was very bad while 5 per cent did not respond to the question.

Except with journalists, lawyers, politicians and businessmen, CJP is popular with everyone else. However, chief justice's performance cannot be judged only by popularity but his fairness. If there is even a single person in the country who judges the chief justice as unfair then his popularity will not matter.

According to the foundation, the survey was carried out from August 27 to September 3 among a sample of 1,550 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country.

“Error margin is estimated to be approximately 2 to 3 per cent at 95 per cent confidence level,” it says.

Senior lawyers have reacted differently to the survey about the CJP’s performance, but are unanimous that ordinary people are happy with his decisions and style.

Talking to The Express Tribune, renowned lawyer Faisal Siddiqui said, “Unlike the liberals and politicos who dislike the CJP, this survey shows that common people consider the ‘judicial activism’ of the CJP as "judicially legitimate".

Additional Advocate General Punjab Shan Gull said that superior judiciary should be dynamic in every third world country so as to resolve the miseries of the people.

Executive Member of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Akhtar Hussain believes that even though common people endorse the CJP’s style of working, it is not a permanent solution to problems.

“Violations of fundamental rights are rampant and such violations cannot be fixed through exercise of public interest litigation jurisdiction in developing countries like Pakistan,” he said, adding that the Indian Supreme Court had widely exercised suo motu powers in the past but that had created a mess and they were compelled to regulate public interest jurisdiction.

According to the PBC member, it is the need of the hour that Article 184(3) of the Constitution is regulated in Pakistan as the superior bars have already passed several resolutions in this regard.