ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Thursday said Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi should voluntarily recuse from the bench which is hearing the suo motu regarding not holding elections in the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on February 22 constituted a nine-member bench headed by him and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah to consider the questions; Who has the constitutional responsibility and authority for appointing the date for the holding of a general election to a Provincial Assembly, upon its dissolution in the various situations envisaged by and under the Constitution? How and when is this constitutional responsibility to be discharged?

Punjab, KP polls: CJP takes suo motu notice of delay

PBC Vice-Chairman Haroonur Rashid and Council’s Chairman Executive Committee Hassan Raza Pasha in a statement said: “We expect that Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi should voluntarily recuse from the bench from hearing of this important matter, which the proprietary demands for him.”

They asked the chief justice to constitute a bench comprising nine senior judges of the Supreme Court without exclusion of Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood to make its image as impartial and neutral, so that the public and the lawyers’ community may not question upon the bench for hearing of an important matter in respect of the determination of constitutional responsibility and authority to announce the date of election for Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assemblies.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023