The independence of judiciary continues to take a battering under President Pervez Musharraf's rule, although an independent judiciary is key to building an enlightened and tolerant state, said a spokesperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in a statement here on Thursday.
Two senior judges of the Azad Kashmir judicial system were superseded to pave the way for the appointment of Justice Riaz Akhtar Chaudhry as Chief Justice of the AJK Supreme Court.
"This is in contravention of the Judges verdict of 1996 wherein senior judges took precedence over junior ones for promotion to ensure that judges can give judgements without fear of whether they will be promoted or not," he said. The regime has sent the message that it picked the judges according to its political decisions, he said.
Justice Riaz Akhtar Chaudhry was appointed permanent judge of AJK High Court in 1997, while Justice Gilani was appointed permanent Judge of High Court in 1991. Under the judicial rules, Justice Gilani, as the senior most judge in the Supreme Court, had a legal and legitimate expectancy to be nominated the Chief Justice.
Online
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