ISLAMABAD: Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar on Thursday declined an offer to serve as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court, making him the second judge to refuse the position after facing criticism. Earlier, retired Supreme Court judge Mushir Alam had also turned down the same offer for a three-year term.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is set to meet on Friday to discuss the appointment of four retired Supreme Court judges.
Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar, speaking at a ceremony at the Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad, stated that he declined the ad hoc judge position for “personal reasons.” He affirmed that the appointment of ad hoc judges is legal and called the criticism “baseless.”
Supporting Chief Justice Isa’s decision, Baqar, who previously served as the caretaker chief minister of Sindh, emphasized the necessity of appointing ad hoc judges to address the backlog of cases.
This development follows PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub’s statement to journalists in Islamabad, where he criticized the appointment of three or four judges as insufficient to resolve the issue of thousands of pending cases. Ayub argued that the real motive behind the move is to appoint “like-minded” judges to the Supreme Court, and he urged that these judges should not handle cases related to PTI.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar labeled the move as “dishonesty,” criticizing the timing and intent behind appointing four ad hoc judges during vacations. He warned that such appointments would harm the independence of the judiciary and stated that PTI would address this issue in the Supreme Judicial Council.
In contrast, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar defended the appointment of ad hoc judges, asserting that the constitution permits it and that the Judicial Commission, not the chief justice, makes these appointments. This comes amidst ongoing concerns from PTI about Chief Justice Isa’s role in the process.
It is noteworthy that Baqar and Alam were among four judges, including Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Sardar Tariq Masood, whose names are to be considered in the JCP’s Friday meeting.
