DNA
ISLAMABAD: Justice (retired) Mazhar Alam Miankhel has declined an offer to become an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court becoming the third judge to turn down the proposal.
His refusal comes after Mushir Alam and Maqbool Baqar also declined to be appointed for three years ad hoc judges, which the Supreme Court said were needed due to a backlog of thousands of cases.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan, which is meeting today, was about to consider the appointment of four ad hoc judges for a three-year term — Sardar Tariq Masood, Alam, Baqar, Miankhel. There’s no clarity on Masood’s status so far.
“Justice (retd) Miankhel has decided not to accept the offer due to personal reasons.
It is also pertinent to mention that PTI had hours earlier asked the JCP to turn down a proposal to hire ad hoc judges for the Supreme Court as it may create concerns about the judiciary’s independence.
The PTI has been raising concerns over the appointment of ad hoc judges, claiming that the move is aimed at targeting the party, while the government has supported the decision, saying it falls under the ambit of law.
While Alam noted that he was busy with philanthropic work post-retirement, Baqar opted out due to “personal reasons” and said that the criticism of the appointment of ad hoc judges was baseless.
In his letter to the JCP members, Ayub said that he has “great concern” at the recent proposal to appoint as many as four ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court for a period of three years.
Ayub noted that he was writing the letter as the matter of the appointment was not being presented before the parliament’s committee, therefore, PTI lawmakers did not have a platform to voice their concerns.
“I would strongly urge the Chairman and the members of the JCP to reject the proposed appointment of ad hoc judges to the Supreme Court as that may cause perceptions to arise in the public of attempts to influence and affect the independence of the judiciary.”
