ISLAMABAD: The outgoing Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa, was praised lavishly at a Full-Court reference, held in his honour.

The reference was held on Friday on the eve of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s retirement, who will lay down robes on attaining the age of superannuation.

Fourteen permanent judges, including two ad-hoc judges – Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, and two judges of Shariat Appellate Bench – Justice Dr Khalid Masood and Justice Dr Qibla Ayaz attended the reference. However, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Shehzad Ahmed Ghaiba were absent. Justice Mansoor is abroad for Umrah.

Chief Justice-designate Justice Yahya Afridi, Attorney General for Pakistan Usman Mansoor Awan, Vice-Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Farooq H Naek, and President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Shahzad Malik addressed on the occasion and praised the outgoing chief justice.

The proceeding was broadcast live.

Justice Yahya will take oath of the office of CJP in a ceremony slated to be held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr today (Saturday). He is the first CJP to be appointed under Articles 175A (3), 177, and 179 of the Constitution following the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

Justice Yahya, before his speech, praised the outgoing justice, saying that he found CJP Faez to be “one of the best human beings” and got to learn a lot from him. “Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa will be missed in the Supreme Court. We have a rush of feelings while saying goodbye to the chief justice,” said Justice Afridi.

He said CJP Faez was a kind-hearted person, adding that he disagreed with CJP Faez multiple times during his career but the latter always listened to his stance “with an open heart”. “Speak with a smile, and you will become familiar with CJP Faez’s courteous responses, or provoke Justice Faez and you won’t be able to match his anger,” the incoming CJP said.

“Only God can help you when CJP Isa is angry. I also faced his ire several times and it surely wasn’t a pleasant experience,” he said in a light-hearted manner, prompting CJP Faez to respond with laughter.

The upcoming top judge also paid tribute to the chief justice’s family.

He said it was necessary for the nation to ensure the devolution of powers and supremacy of law. He also drew attention towards the district judiciary in remote areas, saying that his first priority would be the district judiciary of the far-flung areas. CJP Faez, in his address, recalled his 42-year-long judicial career’s life-changing moments. While quipping that “hours are left to freedom”, CJP Faez, in his emotional farewell speech, described his appointment as chief justice of Balochistan as a watershed moment in his career.

“I accepted the position at a time when there was no judge in Balochistan,” the outgoing chief justice said, with his wife Sarina Isa, other family members, and Supreme Court judges present in the audience at the farewell reference.

He thanked everyone who attended the event, including CJP-designate Justice Afridi, and those who didn’t.

Accepting all the praise and appreciation from the participants of the session, the top judge said that it was fortunate that his wife was present during the reference as she would have never believed that people lauded him.

Shedding light on his life and career, CJP Faez said his mother advised him to complete his degree first before doing anything else.

“I was married right after I completed my studies. My married life and career are both 42 years long,” he said. CJP Faez further stated that his father was the first barrister in Balochistan. He said that his wife, Sarina, had a major role in his services in Balochistan but it was her wish not to highlight her name.

Recalling when he took up the post of Balochistan’s chief justice, the top judge said he was writing for an English newspaper when he was summoned by the then-chief justice of Pakistan, former Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

“I thought the chief justice was summoning to reprimand me but he said ‘there is no chief justice in Balochistan so you should become the Balochistan CJ’,” he said. “Becoming the Balochistan chief justice was a life-changing moment,” he added.

He said he was the only judge in Balochistan High Court so he learned from the lawyers and revived a non-functional court in Balochistan. “I haven’t learned from anyone as much as I learned from the lawyers,” he added.

Highlighting the role of women, CJP Faez said that the men should be scared as the women have left them behind. “Men should improve their performance or else the women will take over every seat,” he said in a light-hearted manner.

Speaking about the importance of judges and lawyers, the outgoing top judge also read a letter he received from a woman, who termed one of his past judgments a “shield of protection” for her and her children. “It is our responsibility to serve justice,” CJP Faez said, adding that he might have made “wrong decisions but while making judgments, we follow the law and documents” which favour one party and goes against the other. “However, only Allah knows what the truth is,” he added.

AGP Mansoor, in his speech, stated that Justice Faez has remained unwavering in the Constitution, law, democracy, and the accountability process. “Before becoming Chief Justice, Qazi had a distinguished and successful career as a lawyer.”

He noted that the chief justice has always been a champion of fundamental rights, freedom of expression, and women’s rights. He delivered numerous historic rulings, including a landmark decision on lawful and peaceful protest in the Faizabad sit-in case, clarifying the role of law enforcement agencies.

AFP adds: The government said the amendments were designed to bring a wayward judiciary into line. Critics see it as power grab driven by the military establishment’s desire to rein in the political influence of the Supreme Court, which has issued a series of recent decisions favouring jailed opposition leader Imran Khan.

“Over the last couple of years, the judiciary has been a thorn in the side of the government of the day, particularly the military, which supports the present government,” senior lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed told AFP. “Eventually, they came up with this scheme to subjugate the judiciary through the constitutional amendment,” he added.

The details of the amendments were kept secret from the press and public until they were read out in parliament in a late-night session.

In addition to picking the chief justice, the government will also now have increased representation in the judicial commission responsible for appointing, assessing and removing top judges.

New benches formed of senior judges from across the country will weigh exclusively on constitutional issues, which are at the core of the legal tussle between the government and Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Santiago Canton, the head of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), called it “alarming that a Constitutional Amendment of great significance and public interest was passed in such a secretive manner and in less than 24 hours”.

The overhaul was made on the cusp of Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s retirement on Friday, with his scheduled replacement sidelined by the government in favour of another judge.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024