The Supreme Court (SC) hearing on the formation of election tribunals commenced with a heated exchange between Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer Niazullah Niazi.
Niazullah Niazi objected on Thursday to the inclusion of the Chief Justice in the bench, a motion swiftly dismissed by Chief Justice Isa.
“Why not refer Niazullah Niazi’s case to the Pakistan Bar Council? Are we here to be insulted? Enough is enough,” CJ Isa remarked adding that, “We are aware of your political affiliations and will not tolerate continued contempt of the judiciary. This must end.”
CJ Isa emphasised that the authority to form benches now lies with the Practice and Procedure Committee, marking an end to the era when the CJ had that prerogative.
Niazi, alluding to Imran Khan, stated, “The one in jail objects that his election symbol was taken away.”
In response, CJ remarked, “We provided video link facilities from jail, and no objections were raised at that time. Ali Zafar did not raise any objections in the intra-party election case either. This defamation of institutions must stop. Headlines in newspapers question how the bench was formed. The era of popular decisions is over; now, the committee has the authority to form benches.”
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail further added, “Courts do not operate based on public wishes.”
The latest flare up between the judiciary and PTI lawyers is not isolated incident.
Previous hearings have also seen tensions between CJ Isa and Advocate Niazi. In an earlier case, the PTI lawyer had leveled serious allegations against the CJ in court but failed to provide any proof to back his claims.
