AGP says article-6 not meant to judge somebody’s loyalty towards state

Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan said on Monday that nowadays article-6 of the constitution could easily be invoked against political opponents, but this thing should be borne in mind that the purpose of these articles was not to judge somebody’s loyalty towards the state, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.  

Speaking at a full-court reference held to bid farewell to Justice Maqbool Baqar of the Supreme Court (SC) who is set to retire today, he said Justice Baqar’s entire career was brilliant.

He said it would be an injustice not to mention Justice Baqar’s role during the PCO of 2007. “Even the terrorist incident of 2013 could not deter the SC judge from performing his duties,” he added.  

Speaking on the occasion, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Ahsan Bhoon said it was his prayer to The Almighty Allah that the judiciary in Pakistan continued to have judges like Justice Baqar.   

Referring to yesterday’s (Sunday April 3, 2022) ruling given by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri in which he had thrown out the no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition on the basis of a ‘threatening letter’ received by the government, Bhoon alleged there was a ‘conspiracy’ behind what he called attempts to create anarchy in the country. “By deviating from the constitutional path, the democratic system was put in jeopardy,” he opined.

“The Supreme Court is a custodian of the constitution,” SCBA president said, adding it would be great service on its part if it ordered such steps which could pull the country out of crisis. “It is hoped that the apex court would hear the case on a daily basis so that the country could get rid of the constitutional crisis,” he added.

In his address, SC judge Justice Maqbool Baqar said today he was going to retire. “During my career, I made efforts to ensure common man’s access to justice,” he said, and acknowledged, “Still, I think that despite all my efforts and of my fellow judges, the judiciary has failed to come up to the expectations of litigants.”  

He stressed that the political and social connections of a judge should not stand in the administration of justice.

Reporter: Amanat Gishkori