Will CJ be amenable to tenure extension move

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa is in no mood to extend his tenure as he is retiring on October 25, the Express Tribune has learned on good authority.

Sources in the federal government said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also aware about the latest situation.

The development comes amid reports that the government was contemplating constitutional amendments to extend CJ Isa’s tenure.

There are reports that the PML-N led government is considering two options -- either to fix tenure of the chief justice to three years or extend the retirement age of SC judges from 65 to 67. Similarly, the retirement age of high court judges will be extended from 62 to 64 through a constitutional amendment.

It has been learnt that a majority of legal minds within the government agreed that the retirement age of all superior courts judges should be extended by two years to decrease the budget of pensions.

Currently, the government has not the required number in parliament to amend the Constitution on account of the suspension of its 23 MNAs, who were notified for the reserved seats after the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) refusal to allocate them to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

Likewise, there is no clarity as whether or not the government can secure a two-thirds majority in the Senate.

The Senate elections in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly are yet to be held.

A cabinet member admitted that the current government wanted to extend the tenure of CJP Isa.

There is a cordial relationship between CJP Isa and the present executive.

On the other hand, the relationship between CJP Isa and the PTI remains tense since the latter’s regime filed a presidential reference against the judge for his removal in May 2019.

Senior lawyers believe that if CJP Isa is not interested, the government may reconsider the idea of extending the tenure of SC judges.

They believe that CJP Isa has not publicly made an announcement about his retirement as it may have affected his position within the institution.

However, those who are close to him are aware that he has no ambition of prolonging his tenure.

In order to bring judicial reforms, all parliamentary parties should be on the same page.

However, the fate of the reserved seats case is still important.

The composition of a larger bench will be significant.

It will be interesting to see who will be included in the bench, which will resume hearing the matter on June 3.

A lawyer believes that it has become difficult to make a constitutional amendment after the interim order on the reserved seats.

Although fiery statements have been made by the rulers against the superior courts judges, one section within the government is consistently urging for an 'institutional dialogue between the executive and judiciary’.

It has been learnt that the executive authorities have also agreed to initiate institutional dialogue with the judges. In fact, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan has been assigned the task to work on it.

However, tensions between the two institutions have increased and now it is almost impossible that both sides can reach an understanding. There is a complete mistrust between the two institutions.

It is an open secret that the PTI is biggest beneficiary of the clash between the executive and judiciary.

If CJP Isa is ready to retire on his scheduled time, it will be major setback for the present regime.

It is a fact that both the executive and CJP Isa have the same concerns related to last year’s May 9 violence as well as the use of social media.

History suggests that during clashes, the security establishment has never prevailed over the judiciary.

The strategy of the ‘powerful circles’ has so far failed to deal with judges.

The senior lawyers agree that the executive authorities should immediately stop its aggressive policy toward judges as it cannot deal on two fronts at the same time – the PTI and judiciary.