Justice Maqbool Baqar cites personal and domestic reasons for refusal. Law minister defends ad-hoc judges appointment, plan to slap ban on PTI.

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI  -  Following Justice (Retd) Mushir Alam’s refusal to become ad-hoc judge, another seasoned former judge of the Supreme Court (SC) Justice (Retd)  Maqbool Baqar has also declined the offer to be appointed as an ad-hoc judge in the apex court.

According to details, while Justice Maqbool was initially supportive of the appointment, he withdrew yesterday, citing personal and domestic reasons. Justice Maqbool expressed gratitude for the nomination but ultimately decided against accepting the prestigious role.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that Justice (retired) Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice (retired) Sardar Tariq Masood have expressed their willingness to take up the ad hoc judge positions, demonstrating their continued commitment to judicial service.

The issue surfaced following a letter from Justice (retired) Mushir Alam to Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, who also heads the Supreme Judicial Council overseeing these appointments. In his letter, Justice Alam expressed gratitude for the nomination but regretfully declined due to current circumstances.

In his correspondence, Justice Alam emphasized his respect for the Judicial Commission and the Supreme Court, acknowledging the trust placed in him.

Justice Alam cited disappointment with the social media campaign that emerged following his nomination as a significant reason for his decision. “The campaign on social media after the nomination of ad-hoc judges has been deeply discouraging,” the letter read.

“In the current circumstances, I regret that I am unable to serve as an ad-hoc judge,” he conveyed.

Expressing gratitude, Justice Alam wrote, “God has honoured me beyond my position...I am thankful to the Judicial Commission for the honour of being reappointed as an ad-hoc judge.”

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar has put his weight behind the recent government’s plan to impose a ban on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP) proposal to appoint retired jurists in the Supreme Court as ad hoc judges, saying that the country’s Constitution allows such appointments.

Expressing his opinion in a statement on Thursday, the federal minister defended the JCP’s proposal, saying the ad hoc judges should be appointed.

He asserted that ad hoc judges should be appointed as the Constitution permits for this.

He said that the matter of imposing Article 6 on PTI leaders could be brought to the Parliament for debate.

In a statement, the minister denied the news about the extension of the tenure of Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa and said that because of the high pension bill, the debate about the extension of the tenure of government employees arose.

He said that in late April or early May, there was a meeting with the Chief Justice regarding the Judicial Commission in which he stated that he was not interested in extending the tenure.

The law minister said that there is a genuine case of Article 6 against leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders as the constitution was violated by dissolving the assemblies in the presence of a no-confidence motion.

Azam Nazeer said that the issue of the application of Article 6 on PTI leaders could be brought to the Parliament for debate. Last year decision was not taken to ban the PTI to maintain the political environment, he said.