The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday heard a petition, seeking the issuance of the notification for the appointment of Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP.
Justice Faisal Zaman Khan heard Nadeem Shibli Advocate’s petition. Assistant Attorney General Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad Gujjar represented the federal government in the case.
In his plea, Nadeem Advocate stated that there was a sense of anxiety in the country owing to political, legal and constitutional issues.
He further said that the president as well as the prime minister had made the appointment of the new chief justice an issue. “And in order to enlist the support of a majority of the members of the Parliament (MPs) for the passage of the constitutional amendments, even the MPs were picked up,” read the petition.
The petitioner further said that as per the constitution, the senior-most judge in the apex court was elevated to the rank of the CJP. “The appointment of the new chief justice is notified two months prior to the retirement of the sitting CJP.”
Now when, Nadeem Advocate went on to say, only one month was left before the retirement of CJP Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the government had yet to issue the notification that showed a bad intention on its part.
“Consequently, there is a sense of uneasiness not only in the legal fraternity but also in the masses. The LHC Bar even organized a lawyers’ convention on the issue,” the petitioner said, adding, “Unfortunately, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar is not playing the kind of role he is supposed to play.”
The petitioner prayed to the court to order the immediate issuance of the notification for the appointment of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as the chief justice of Pakistan.
