SC responds letter written by Imran Khan to CJP Qazi Faez Isa
Supreme Court says CJP would ‘neither be pressurised nor favour anyone’
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday responded to the letter sent by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) former chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa and said he would “neither be pressurised nor favour anyone”.
The statement released by Secretary to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmed added that CJP Isa “shall continue to fulfill his duties and abide by the oath of his office”.
On November 30, former prime minister Imran Khan in his letter to the CJP urged the release of female prisoners arrested during the May 9 riots. He further insisted on the establishment of a commission to investigate the disappearances of journalists and PTI political workers and requested to lift the media ban for “coverage without any restriction or discrimination”.
The letter by Imran emphasised the need to assert Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, which safeguards the ‘right to liberty, to associate, assemble, and speak’ on account of their political affiliation.
Acknowledging the receipt of the 77-page ‘undated’ document couriered by Advocate Intazar Hussian Panjutha, the statement on Saturday remarked that ‘surprisingly’ the document in a ‘sealed envelope’ had already been distributed to the media before it was received at the office of the chief justice of Pakistan on December 1.
It further maintained that misgivings arise as the political party on “whose behalf the document has ostensibly been sent is well represented by advocates.” It further added that “only recently its advocates conducted two significant cases in the Supreme Court, on the military courts and the elections”.
The statement issued by the SC added that the document comprises a typed application, tabulated tables, and photocopies, altogether 84 pages, bound in a yellow paper book, the kind used for filings in the Supreme Court.
It further said that the identity and contact details of the advocate who prepared the document do not appear in the document. According to the Supreme Court, the document is seemingly sent by a political party, although it has been represented well by lawyers. Some of them recently appeared before the apex court in important cases involving military court trials and elections.
In the response, the SC assured all that “Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, is fully cognizant of his constitutional duties and will neither be pressurized nor favor anyone, and by the Grace of the Almighty shall continue to fulfill his duties and abide by the oath of his office ”.