Prime minister’s summary: G-B law minister appointed Chief Court judge

Constitutional experts challenge the move as illegal.

ISLAMABAD:

Now that the tenure of the assemblies’ has come to an end, the law minister of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) has sought a new avenue to assure his authority: he will sit as judge in the top court of G-B, following a summary signed on Saturday.

Reports indicate that the said law minister, Wazir Shakil, was himself involved in the drafting of the summary regarding two judicial appointments in G-B. The summary document, signed by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, sanctioned the appointment of former sessions judge Mohammad Alam, and the G-B law minister to key judicial positions in G-B’s Chief Court.

The fresh appointments were challenged on grounds of being illegal. Any arbitrary induction to courts, in absence of consultation from a constitutional commission is against the law, said constitutional expert Salman Akram Raja.

Previously, the appointment of judges to the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan had been challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. However, Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan argues that G-B’s judicial affairs do not fall under the Supreme Court’s domain.

But Salman Raja emphasised that the Supreme Court’s authority extended to G-B as well.

He said that he had filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court two years ago on behalf of G-B Supreme Court Bar Council against unconstitutional practices in G-B’s superior judiciary.



“It is interesting that there is test and interview everywhere, even for the appointment of a clerk, but there is no criteria for appointment of a judge in our society, whose decisions direct affect lives of people”, said Advocate Ahsan Ali, former President Giglit-Baltistan High Court Bar Council. “In Pakistan, particularly in G-B, all judges have been picked on political grounds, keeping aside merit, competency and honesty.”

Earlier, while talking to the The Express Tribune, Shakil had said that he fulfills the criteria set for a judge of the superior court as he had ten years of professional experience as a lawyer in the Chief Court.

However, Advocate Ahsan Ali insists that there was no precedence in Pakistan of appointing a sitting law minister as judge, as the minister himself is involved in preparing a summary in this regard, which makes appointments susceptible to bias and personal interests.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2013.