News Analysis |
On Saturday afternoon in Lahore, Chief Justice Saqib Nasir, held a press conference to clarify the role of the Supreme Court has been playing in the cases of the last few months. Friday was a day of two major decisions regarding the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case and the disqualification cases against PTI leaders Imran Khan and Jahangir Tareen.
The Supreme Court dismissed the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case. In the second case Imran Khan was exonerated but Jahangir Tareen was disqualified for life on Article 62 as he had failed to declare a property he owned abroad called Hyde House. Tareen recently resigned from his post as general secretary of the party even though Imran Khan stated that the decision by the Supreme Court would be reviewed.
Saqib Nasir was met with applause at the end of his press conference. The Supreme Court has made some brave decisions in the past few months but at the same time.
The Chief Justice started off his press conference by informing the public about how hard all judges had been working in the past few months. He stated that nobody has any idea how difficult the past year has been for the judges. Top analysts have been claiming that there is a split between the judges, which is why the Hudaibiya case was dismissed but Nasir assured everyone that all judges act independently.
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He said that they don’t have any pressure on them from anyone and that they have the freedom to make the correct decision based on the law without favoring any party. He further stated that no appointment is made in the court through connections or nepotism either.
Nasir wanted to make sure all political parties understood that if a decision does not go against them, it is not because of some grand scheme or conspiracy but because of the law. He also addressed people misbehaving with lawyers and judges and cursing them saying that such behavior was not acceptable and neither was it something he expected.
He told a story of a woman who had lost her eye sight while trying to get her land back and how he and the Supreme Court helped the lady get reasonable compensation after her years of struggle.
The Chief Justice added that people begin criticizing the court’s decisions without even reading the report first. He encouraged all those concerned to first read the official report the court releases and then to form their opinions about what has been said. He said this while referring to the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case saying that it will definitely be reopened and that the people who feel hard done by that decision should not criticize the court straight away.
Nasir said that not every little political dispute needs to be brought to the Supreme Court. He told a story of a woman who had lost her eye sight while trying to get her land back and how he and the Supreme Court helped the lady get reasonable compensation after her years of struggle. He spoke about how the Supreme Court should be used to help regular people in Pakistan too.
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At the end of his public declaration he stated that he needs the help of the bar to make amendments to increase the efficiency of the legal process in the country. He also suggested committees be formed to help in this process.
Saqib Nasir was met with applause at the end of his press conference. The Supreme Court has made some brave decisions in the past few months but at the same time, if the public were to believe everything the Chief Justice was saying, Pakistan would be completely free of crime and corruption so perhaps some of his statements should be taken with a grain of salt.