Urges people to criticise individuals not institutions n Says Pakistan needs judiciary, executive
and military as part of executive.
LAHORE - Senior puisne judge of Supreme Court, Justice Qazi Faez Isa said Saturday that Pakistan needs judiciary, executive and military as part of executive.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa stated this while addressing the inaugural session of 4th Asma Jahangir Conference held at a local hotel on Saturday. Justice Isa said that Pakistan needed to be led by an elected representatives and democracy.
Qazi Faez Isa said, “Judge us as judges, condemn me as a judge, but don’t condemn the Supreme Court.” He said that condemn an individual, but don’t criticise the institutions, adding that without institutions, a country implodes. He said if democracy was removed from Pakistan, it was like stabbing in the back.
He said there was need to learn from our own history. He said that glorious traditions set by Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa needed to be followed who, despite pressure, never recanted.
Justice said, “We have forgotten democratic traditions of the founder the country, constitutionalism which made the country united.” Qazi Faez Isa said there was a need to go back and discover old truths.
About the late Asma Jahangir, he said she was “a one big lady”.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa while referring to former PM Nawaz Sharif said that a prime minister was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for any public office because he had refused to take salary from his son.
“I will not comment on the decision, but it reads that: You (Nawaz Sharif) did not declare the salary you were to receive. By not declaring that salary, you have misrepresented the facts before the court that’s why you are not a good Muslim,” the SC judge quoted the text of the 2017 verdict while addressing the participants of the 4th Asma Jahangir Conference here on Saturday.
The justice said criticism should be targeted at the one who abused his/her powers and not the institution. “Crticise the general by name who breached the Constitution and not the Armed Forces of Pakistan; disagree with me as a judge, but do not condemn the Supreme Court.” he said.
“Under Article 5, all of us including me are bound to abide by the Constitution,” he added. Justice Isa said that if a citizen monitoring institution for democracy was established, it could monitor those getting salaries and pensions from the government.
He said he would place General Ayub Khan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf on the executive’s blacklist and the first and second army chiefs of Pakistan on the whitelist.
Justice Isa said that he will not point fingers at any institutions.
“I was a chief justice at the Balochistan High Court for five years and judges cannot say that they are under pressure. If someone says that he is under pressure then he is not following the oath he has taken,” he remarked.
He recalled that once he watched the interview of a chief justice that brought tears to his eyes. “That chief justice said that the verdict of the Bhutto case was given under pressure,” said Justice Isa.
“It is the Constitution that keeps the country united,” he added. Speaking in a “personal capacity”, Justice Isa welcomed criticism, as he would never hold anyone for contempt of court, however, he reiterated people avoid criticising the institution because without an institution, “a country implodes, it breaks apart […] practically”.
