The way the judiciary is handling the cases concerning founding chairman of PTI Imran Khan and comforts ordered for him in breach of the jail manual for convicted persons is really a cause of great irritation for the government. It is so irritating that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who is usually very cautious about making observations about judiciary lost his cool the other day and dubbed those judges as ‘black sheep’ who were providing undue relief to Imran Khan and were obstructing quick justice for his wrongdoings. Well I believe it was a wrong choice of the words but the fact is he did point out the biases of the judges handling Imran’s cases. There is a persisting impression that there are still many judges in the judiciary who were part of the Imran Khan project and who were inducted into the judiciary for that very purpose.
Nonetheless the remarks made by Mr Justice Athar Minullah during the hearing of the government appeal against the Supreme Court decision on NAB laws in response to the observation of the Prime Minister were equally objectionable. It is said that judges speak through their verdicts and refrain from statements and observations making headlines in the media. He asked the Attorney General to convey to the Prime Minister that the judges were not black sheep but black wasps. It was a bad comparison made without understanding its connotation. A wasp is an insect with wings in yellow and black having painful sting like a bee.
They are considered a harmful species and people react to their presence by either killing them or shoving them away to ensure their safety. So by equating judges with wasps Justice Athar Minallah has actually said judges were harmful individuals. I think that except for some pliable and corrupt Judges who have really given harmful verdicts that have had debilitating impact on the political and economic landscape of the country, the majority of the judges in the superior courts are honest with impregnable integrity and their verdicts have benefited the society and the individuals. I will brand them as benefactors of the nation. So Athar Minallah was wrong in dubbing all the judges as black wasps. If he wants to be a different brand from them it is up to him.
However I cannot help observing that the way he has conducted himself during the hearing of the cases pertaining to Imran Khan, particularly the government appeal against the SC verdict on NAB amendments does raise many eyebrows. It was decided by the three member committee of the Supreme Court to stream live coverage of the cases heard under Article 184(3) of the constitution if they are of broader pu,blic interest. A number of cases have been streamed live already. The present case before the Court is not of public interest and is not being heard under Article 184(3) so there was no logic or reason for its live coverage. But Justice Athar Minallah insisted that the hearing of the case be streamed live and did prevail in having Imran Khan heard through video link from Adiala Jail.
The induction of dual nationals in the bureaucracy and their appointment as judges has to be stopped, taking a cue from the Supreme Court decision. The JUI(F) legislator Noor Alam has submitted a bill to the National Assembly Secretariat aimed at barring duality nationality holders from becoming judges and civil servants. That must be supported by all the parties.
The idea ostensibly seemed to provide Imran a chance to make a public appearance and deliver a political speech. That was an unprecedented event. The question is how could a convict be allowed to address the people from prison through video link in view of his incendiary discourses on record? The move was thwarted by the CJ during the first hearing and Imran was only taken on the video link to ensure his presence before the court without live streaming of the court proceedings.
During the hearing of the case on 29 May the Advocate General of KPK submitted a miscellaneous petition praying the court to allow live streaming of the court proceedings. The CJ rightly remarked that it was not a matter of public interest but a technical and legal issue. Justice Athar again supported the idea of live streaming. In view of the evolving situation the bench decided to consult each other regarding the decision to live stream the proceeding or not. Ultimately with 4-1 majority it was decided not to allow live coverage of the event. Here again the dissenting judge was Mr Justice Athar Minallah. In view of his conduct voices are already being heard about his bias in favour of Imran Khan and some have even demanded a reference against him for his insulting remarks about the judges by calling them black wasps. I also heard a lawyer who also is a vlogger saying unpalatable things about how Mr Justice Athar Minallah manoeuvred his induction into the superior judiciary by using political channels and controversial decisions given by him while he was chief justice of IHC.
Mr Justice Babar Sattar, who is a dual national of Pakistan and the USA, was also inducted as judge of the IHC when Athar Minallah was the CJ of the court. Logically speaking if nobody with dual nationality can contest elections for the parliament then no person with divided loyalties can be inducted in the bureaucracy or made judge of a superior court, If my memory serves me right the Supreme Court had rejected a petition by Tahir-ul-Qadri with the remark that he being a dual national did not have locus stand in the matter.
I think the induction of dual nationals in the bureaucracy and their appointment as judges has to be stopped, taking a cue from the Supreme Court decision. The JUI(F) legislator Noor Alam has submitted a bill to the National Assembly Secretariat aimed at barring duality nationality holders from becoming judges and civil servants. That must be supported by all the parties.
