Omar rejects ad hoc judges in letter to JCP

Omar argued that appointments should not give impression of move to balance opinion of SC against one party

ISLAMABAD:

National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub wrote a letter to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Friday, expressing his reservations on the appointment of ad hoc judges to the Supreme Court.

The letter, which followed a similar letter penned by Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz, Omar Ayub rejected the proposed appointment of ad-hoc judges. He said that the appointments should not give the impression that it was a move to balance the opinion of the Supreme Court against one party.

The appointment had been proposed on the basis of pending cases, but “if we look at the timing of the proposal for the appointment of ad hoc judges, it seems that it had come immediately after the recent 8-5 judgment in favour of the PTI in the reserved seats case”.

Meanwhile, the PTI urged the Supreme Court to promptly hear the case related to the recovery of missing persons and put a halt to the ongoing campaign of coercion aimed at forcing the party-affiliated lawmakers to switch loyalties.