The government has yet to issue a notification regarding the appointment of Supreme Court senior puisne judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan. However, the Supreme Court has scheduled a full-court reference for outgoing CJ Qazi Faez Isa.
The SC has issued two letters stating that a full-court reference will take place in Courtroom No. 1 of the apex court building on October 25 (Friday).
The letter addressed to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president requests that he submit a copy of his speech in advance. The Attorney-General for Pakistan, the Pakistan Bar Council's vice chairman, the SCBA president, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and outgoing CJ Isa will deliver speeches at the full-court reference.
In a separate letter addressed to Justice Shah and the AGP, the SC assistant registrar noted that while it is customary to hold a farewell dinner on such occasions, CJ Isa has declined, citing the high cost of around Rs2 million.
It remains unclear whether any SC judge personally invited CJ Isa to the farewell dinner. However, with the issuance of these letters, it is evident that there is no legal basis to retain Justice Isa in his position.
Since March, there have been rumors that the current government may seek to extend CJ Isa's tenure for the sake of stability. Initially, the government considered setting a fixed tenure for the CJ, then later proposed extending the retirement age of all superior court judges by three years. These suggestions were reportedly shared with senior judges.
However, the government's plans were disrupted when a three-member bench led by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah suspended a Peshawar High Court judgment regarding reserved seats, as well as an Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notification about the allocation of 78 reserved seats to other political parties.
This interim order reportedly displeased key officials in various departments.
Subsequently, the government lost its two-thirds majority due to the SC's July 12 ruling on the reserved seats case. The government is still working to regain this majority in order to amend the Constitution.
Even a bench led by CJ Isa reinstated the ECP's decision regarding recounting in three constituencies, leading to the PTI losing three National Assembly seats.
A larger bench headed by CJ Isa overturned an earlier SC decision on the interpretation of Article 63A of the Constitution, allowing the vote of a defecting lawmaker to be counted.
Reports suggest that CJ Isa himself is not interested in extending his tenure, though he has not made any public statements in the last six months. He has also reportedly asked the government not to include him in the proposed judicial package, as he plans to retire on October 25.
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