ISLAMABAD   -  Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehm­ood Ashrafi pleaded Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to re­view the composition of the 9-member bench.

Ashrafi, who is also the Special Representative to the Prime Minister on In­terfaith Harmony and the Middle East, in an open let­ter, written to the CJP on Friday said for the past few days, many issues regard­ing an honourable judge of the Supreme Court had been coming to the fore through the media. In view of these issues, the honour­able court had taken suo moto action regarding the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa, he added. He said, “It is your right to take suo moto action and no objec­tion is appropriate despite reservations, but the res­ervations from different quarters may be reviewed.”

Ashrafi said it was in the CJP’s knowledge that ac­cording to the principles of Islamic Shariah, a judge in­fluenced by circumstances, and events should not be part of any jury to decide any case morally. He said the role of the judiciary was very important in the cur­rent circumstances of the country and Supreme Court was the last door where justice could be expected. In these circumstances, if the respected judges of the apex court were not trusted and the doubts about them were not resolved, then where the nation would go to seek justice, he ques­tioned. “For the betterment of country and nation, it is necessary to make deci­sions based on understand­ing, prudence and with­out anger in the current situation,” he maintained. Ashrafi said the major po­litical parties of Pakistan had demanded that a full bench should be constitut­ed in the present case. 

He further requested the CJP that during the last few months, the attention of all judiciary was on political cases due to which thou­sands of prisoners whose bails and releases cases were being affected and their rights as human be­ings were being usurped. He said the political cases must be prosecuted, but at the same time, steps should be taken with regard to the people who were in jail or whose cases were pending. He opined that a specific day or time should be ap­pointed for political cases so that the rights of common people and justice seekers should not be violated