ISLAMABAD: In an unusual development, an opposition legislator moved a bill in the upper house of the parliament on Monday, seeking to increase the numerical strength of the Supreme Court judges— a move strongly opposed by his fellow opposition lawmakers but supported by those from the treasury side.
Abdul Qadir, a senator from Balochistan, who does not belong to any political party, and sides with the opposition benches, moved the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Bill 2024 in the house meeting.
The bill seeks increasing the number of SC judges from 17 to 21 “to address the rising number of pending cases.”
The bill seeks substituting the Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1997 with a new provision that reads, “Maximum Number of Supreme Court Judges other than Chief Justice: The number of Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan other than the Chief Justice shall be twenty.”
In the recent days, reports surfaced suggesting that the federal government would support a series of legislations of private members in the parliament to increase the number of SC judges, allegedly to elevate “likeminded” judges, in order to get favourable decisions from the top court.
Taking the floor, Qadir said in the Senate session that over 53,000 cases were pending in the SC. “People have to wait up to two years to get their bills fixed in the SC and for this purpose, they have to use other means,” he said.
“I think 16 more judges should be inducted in the Supreme Court,” he said.
Qadir’s speech met strong criticism from the opposition.
Law Minister Azam Tarar came to Qadir’s rescue. “What he has said is true,” the minister remarked.
“What is this fuss all about— he did not say anything unusual,” he added.
The minister said Fawzia Arshad from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) recently moved a similar bill seeking to increase the number of SC judges that was under consideration by the relevant Senate committee. She had to withdraw the bill on Hamid Khan’s insistence, he said.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where, they (opposition) is in government, demanded that the number of Peshawar High Court judges be increased by 10 judges. We have allowed it, because it’s a genuine issue,” Tarar said.
Fawzia Arshad responded that her bill on increasing the number of SC judges dated January 30, 2023. “The circumstances were different when I moved that bill. In the present situation, I withdrew it,” she said, denying that the bill was withdrawn on Khan’s insistence.
PTI Parliamentary Leader in Senate Ali Zafar alleged that Qadir “is being used.”
He termed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Bill 2024 as being tantamount to a “judicial coup.” “The world has rejected the concept of judicial coup,” he said, adding that “judicial stacking” was unacceptable.
“If you want to increase the number of judges, first increase the strength of judges of the lower courts— they need it the most,” Zafar said.
Opposing the bill, PTI’s Saifullah Abro said, “People like Qadir and I, we have nothing to do with this bill. We better avoid needlessly jumping into someone else’s battle.”
Awami National Party (ANP) chief Aimal Wali Khan said, “If there’s smell, something is cooking.” He questioned the motive for hastily bringing the bill in the present situation.
Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani referred the bill to the relevant committee.
Another private-members’ bill; the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024, was also referred to the relevant committee. Moved by five treasury senators, the bill aims to “regulate the holding of public assemblies at certain places in Islamabad Capital Territory.”
Leader of the Opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz and other PTI senators; Ali Zafar, Humayun Mohmand and Zeeshan Khanzada, strongly opposed the bill, terming it an attempt to stop the PTI from holding public gatherings in the federal capital.
The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, moved by Zafar, and State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2023, moved by Mohsin Aziz, also from PTI, were among the bills that were referred to the relevant committees.
Fawzia Arshad’s Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 that sought to make bachelor’s degree as a minimum mandatory educational qualification for the electable politicians, was rejected by the house.
The Senate also passed a motion to elect six senators nominated by the chairman Senate for Public Accounts Committee (PAC) membership.
They are: Shibli Faraz (PTI), Saleem Mandviwalla (Pakistan Peoples Party-PPP), Bilal Ahmed Khan (PPP), Afnan Ullah Khan (Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz-PML-N), Mohsin Aziz (PTI) and Fawzia Arshad (PTI). The session was adjourned till Thursday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.