Isa's ex-lawyers urge him to retire
Two prominent lawyers who represented the current chief justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, when a presidential reference was filed against him during the PTI's rule in 2019, have urged him to "preserve his legacy and retire with honor on October 25."
On Sunday, Muneer A Malik and Faisal Siddiqi, who served as counsels for Justice Isa or publicly supported him through their writings against the "unconstitutional and malafide" presidential reference, issued a "public statement" amid political maneuvering over proposed constitutional amendments to bring major changes in the country's judicial system.
In the statement, they expressed concern over the "unprecedented assault on the Constitution and the Supreme Court and the high courts through a dubious and questionable constitutional amendments package" and called upon the chief justice to distance himself from the controversy.
"[We call upon him] preserve his legacy and relinquish his robes with honour on October 25th, 2024, and also not to be a nominee for any appointment for any proposed Constitutional Court/Bench.
"Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah will deservedly be the de jure Chief Justice of Pakistan on the dawn of October 26th, 2024.
"Amendments made to the sacrosanct document of the Constitution do not lie in the domain of a parliament that lacks national legitimacy. And we therefore urge the legal fraternity and the judiciary to resist and reject these," they added.
Meanwhile, some members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Sunday also expressed their deep concern with regard to the proposed constitutional amendment "being introduced in complete violation of procedure of parliament in a secretive and clandestine manner."
According to the statement, the proposed amendments as being reported widely are not only violative of the basic structure of the Constitution but are aimed at nullifying the independence of the judiciary. "The amendments are against the rule of law and are being procured on the basis of a total annihilation of the Constitution without any debate. The entire exercise appears to be a rubber stamping exercise in order to create an alternative judicial system for ulterior motives.
"It is most relevant that the consensus for the amendment in the Constitution can only be reached after speeches, discussions etc; whereas without disclosing the amendments to the members of the parliament as well the public at large the same are being pushed through." The PBC urged the members of the legal fraternity including judges of the superior courts and lawyers to unite regardless of their personal views to preserve the sanctity of the Constitution and the independence of judicial system and be prepared for a struggle against such unlawful acts.