—– If our writ comes under attack, house will counterattack, Defence Minister warns CJP
—– Khawaja Asif reiterates the Judiciary cannot dictate Parliament
—– ‘We want an end to the one-man show in the Supreme Court’, the Minister clarifies
—– Govt seeks recusal of CJP, 2 other Judges from SC Bench hearing pleas against audio leaks com-mission
—– Objection cites ‘conflict of interest’ for reason, plea reads Judge cannot hear actions of his relatives
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday excoriated Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial for his inclusion in the five-member larger bench to hear petitions against the inquiry commission probing audio leaks involving judges.
“Parliament will retaliate if its authority is challenged and if our writ comes under attack, the house will counterattack,” the defence minister told the top judge while speaking in the National Assembly.
He said that the government had formed a commission and it was stopped from operating by the chief justice. “The judiciary cannot dictate the parliament as it is independent,” he added.
“It was expected that the chief justice would leave this matter to the commission as it also involved his mother-in-law,” said the defence minister, who is also a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Talking about the Arsalan Iftikhar case, he said that the former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhary had recused himself from the bench at that time and distanced himself from his son’s case.
“If Iftikhar Chaudhary can separate himself from the bench then the incumbent chief justice should also be separated,” he said, adding, “It seems like good traditions are being abandoned.”
Speaking about the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, the seasoned politician said that the top court took notice of the bill before it even became an act.
“We have not added any outsider inside the commission,” he said, adding, “We want an end to the one-man show in the apex court. We want transparency of justice to be increased as we don’t want any confrontation with the judiciary.”
Besides, the federal government on Tuesday filed a plea citing a “conflict of interest” against three of the five-member larger bench constituted by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial to hear peti-tions against the inquiry commission probing audio leaks involving judges. In the petition filed yesterday, the government requested that a new bench be formed to hear the petitions against the high-powered commission — headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
“Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar should not listen to the audio leak case,” the petition appealed, adding that the “three respected judges should refuse to sit in the five-member larger bench”.
The plea further added that the objection raised by the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan against the chief justice’s presence in a hearing on May 25 was not accepted.
Citing the fact that one of the leaked audios before the inquiry commission related to the CJP’s family member, the federal government said that according to judicial decisions and the code of conduct, a judge cannot hear the actions of his relatives.
The petition further added that in the Arsalan Iftikhar case, the former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhary recused himself from the bench.
Moreover, it added that the alleged audio leak is also related to Justice Ahsan and Justice Munib. Per-vaiz Elahi’s audio mentions Justice Ahsan, while the audio between the two women mentioned Justice Munib, the application contended as reasons for why these two judges should recuse themselves.
A high-powered judicial commission comprising the CJP along with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Aamer Farooq was tasked on May 20 to probe the audio leaks related to the judiciary. The commission was tasked to complete the inquiry within 30 days.
Among the multiple audio leaks, the commission will also probe into the veracity of the alleged call be-tween former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and a sitting top court judge as well as an-other call between CM Elahi and a Supreme Court lawyer over the constitution of an apex court bench.
Subsequently, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan questioned the government for the “deliberate omission” of the terms of reference (TORs) and challenged the formation of the three-member judicial commission on audio leaks.
Babar Awan, the PTI chief’s lawyer and party leader, had filed the plea on his behalf requesting the court to declare the notification for constituting the commission null and void.
Similarly, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abid Zubairi had also challenged the audio leaks commission to summon directing him to appear before the panel in connection with the inquiry.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar earlier said that the government did not consult CJP Bandial before forming the commission.
In light of these petitions, the Supreme Court stayed the proceedings of the commission and sus-pended the federal government’s notification of the commission’s constitution.
The order was issued by a five-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and com-prising Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed.
