Expressing fears that an extension in the tenure of judges will lead to unrest, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Saturday asked Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa to make his position clear on the subject, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters at Mansoora in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said he hoped that the CJP would express his lack of interest in seeking an extension in his term in office.
In the same breath, he said that increasing the number of judges at this point made the entire exercise ‘doubtful’. “One thing is clear that the government wants to appoint judges of its choice in the Supreme Court (SC) through constitutional amendments,” he said.
“There is an allegation against the government that it is threatening and bullying the opposition lawmakers to get their support for the passage of such controversial bills,” he said, adding these amendments if passed would render the constitution meaningless.
The JI Ameer said earlier people used to avoid discussing relations between the executive and the judiciary. “But not now,” he lamented.
He said when there would be some judges on the government’s side and some on the opposition’s, who would trust the country’s judicial system.
Hafiz Naeem said inflation and joblessness in the country were on the rise.
He demanded that notice be taken of the statement made by PTI's Salman Akram Raja.