The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has strongly condemned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) demand for Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to recuse himself from hearing cases related to the party. According to the PBC, this demand is an attempt to pressure the CJP and undermine the judiciary’s independence.
The PBC emphasized that CJP Qazi Faez Isa is a highly respected and impartial judge whose integrity is beyond question. The council highlighted that the CJP has consistently upheld the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution.
Earlier, the PTI had demanded CJP Qazi Faez Isa recuse himself from benches hearing cases related to the party and its founder, Imran Khan, citing concerns over bias and impartiality. This demand came as the Supreme Court was hearing a case pertaining to the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea against the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) verdict denying it reserved seats for women and minorities.
The case, taken up by a 13-member full court bench of the Supreme Court headed by CJP Qazi Faez Isa, involved appeals by the SIC against the PHC’s judgment. The PHC had previously turned down the SIC’s plea for reserved seats due to the party not submitting its list of candidates for those seats on time. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had decided not to allocate these reserved seats to the SIC, a decision upheld by the PHC.
The SIC’s appeal to the Supreme Court led to a suspension of the PHC order, and the ECP subsequently suspended the victory notifications of 77 lawmakers elected on the disputed reserved seats. The SIC had gained prominence after PTI-backed independent candidates joined it, following the PTI’s disqualification from using its electoral symbol “bat”.
Advocate Faisal Siddiqui, representing the SIC, argued that the ECP’s decision was inconsistent and legally flawed. The CJP and other justices questioned the logic behind the ECP’s orders and the implications of independent candidates joining the SIC after the elections.
The opposition parties, including the PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F, opposed the SIC’s plea, arguing that the PHC’s decision should stand.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has also transferred the Nikah case involving PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to another court, following objections from Khawar Manika. The case will now be heard by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka. This transfer follows a request by Session Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, who felt it was inappropriate for him to continue presiding over the case due to the objections and delays caused by the complainant’s lawyer.