DNA
KARACHI: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said Saturday that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa had told him that he was “not interested” in extending his tenure as the top judge.
Tarar gave the clarification about CJP Isa’s extension in tenure while speaking “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath”.
The law minister said that the chief justice, after the meeting of the judicial commission, had told him in the presence of the attorney general that he was not interested in extending his tenure.
He said that CJP Isa had told him that rumours had been circulating about his extension.
“I told him (CJP) no such thing is happening at all,” he said, adding that the top judge then appreciated him for clarifying the matter.
The law minister noted that he informed the chief justice that work on pension reforms was however underway, which included a suggestion for increasing the age of retirement by two years across all sectors.
He then recalled that when the government was considering increasing the retirement age by two years, a suggestion was made that the judges should also be considered in this regard. However, he did not mention who suggested it.
He said a constitutional amendment is needed to implement this, “but this doesn’t mean we necessarily want to grant an extension”.
“Times have changed and people are retired at the age of 60 and sent home. There is this an opinion prevalent in the country that the retirement age should be extended by two years across the board so that we could save hundreds of billions of rupees and the pressure on the economy could ease. This way, we can also benefit from trained officers,” Tarar remarked.
CJP Isa on September 17, 2023, took oath as the 29th chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) after his predecessor Umar Ata Bandial hung up his robes a day earlier.
Justice Isa’s tenure as the country’s chief justice, however, is quite brief, as he is set to retire from the position on October 25, 2024.
