PPP backs Justice Mansoor as chief justice

Bilawal cautions that changing the judges' age limit could appear as manipulation

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has voiced his support for Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as the next chief justice [of Pakistan], in an attempt to heal any rift with the upcoming top adjudicator after the government aborted plans to table a constitutional package in parliament.

During a meeting with the provincial presidents of the People's Lawyers Forum (PLF), Bilawal discussed progress of the proposed constitutional amendment.

He was joined by PLF central president Nayyar Bukhari, MNA Naveed Qamar, and political advisor Jameel Soomro.

The meeting also touched upon the establishment of proposed constitutional courts, with Bilawal reaffirming the PPP's stance in favour of their creation as per the Charter of Democracy and the party's manifesto.

The meeting has come as part of the ruling alliance's fresh efforts to engage party officials and opposition leaders, especially Maulana Fazlur Rehman, to muster support for the amendments after the previous attempt failed.

Maulana's refusal to offer his party's eight votes in the National Assembly and five in the Senate left the PML-N-led ruling alliance short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill in both houses.

"We have not raised any issue regarding the retirement age of judges, but the government has been pushing for changes on this matter," Bilawal stated, explaining that the PPP had agreed to the government's suggestion to lower the age limit for the initial appointment of judges, which was included in the draft.

He added, "The government proposed increasing the chief justice's maximum age limit to 67 years with an additional three years, but the JUI-F suggested keeping the current limit of 65 years."

Bilawal cautioned against altering the age limit in the constitutional amendment, saying, "It could be seen as an attempt to either exclude or keep someone in office, which would be inappropriate."

Bilawal further emphasized his belief that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah should be the next chief justice, stating, "I believe Justice Mansoor Ali Shah will be the next Chief Justice."

The official statement showed that Bilawal only used the words chief justice instead of chief justice of Pakistan, perhaps, keeping in mind that the position could be changed if the Federal Constitution Court is established with its top judge as the chief justice of Pakistan, rendering the other one as just the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

He highlighted the historical significance of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, both of whom were part of the bench that delivered the landmark verdict in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case.

"I hold both Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah in great esteem," Bilawal added.

On the topic of military courts, Bilawal reiterated the PPP's principled opposition to them. "The Pakistan People's Party has a principled stance against military courts and does not support them. If the government truly deems legislation on military courts necessary, we demand that a joint National Security session of both the National Assembly and Senate be convened."

Commenting on the impact of Article 63-A, Bilawal remarked, "The decision under Article 63-A has stripped parliamentarians of the right to vote according to their conscience."