PTI opposes Imran’s cases being heard by CJP
Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), expressed complete mistrust in Chief Justice Aamir Farooq of the Islamabad High Court and is considering asking Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to recuse himself from any bench hearings involving him or his party.
Imran Khan’s spokesperson, Shoaib Shaheen, that he met with Imran at the Adiala Jail and that during their meeting, it was decided that, in light of the larger bench order, Justice Isa should not hear cases involving Imran.
He declared that should any issue pertaining to the party or its founder come up before a bench presided over by Chief Justice Isa, the PTI would submit a request for his recusal.
Shaheen advised that a petition opposing the purported election manipulation was being prepared and would shortly be submitted to the highest court.
Bushra Bibi, Imran’s spouse, and they had already shown suspicion towards the IHC CJ. Superior bars have received notices from the IHC regarding their objections. The supreme court is still considering the case.The bench, which was presided over by former CJP Umar Ata Bandial and included Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar, was observed by the previous PDM government to have been viewed with suspicion when it came to the holding of general elections for the assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). The PDM government then asked for the formation of a full court, but their request was denied.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had previously accused former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry of prejudice. Similarly, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) accused former Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar of being biased. Nevertheless, neither party was able to have them removed from hearing cases involving them.
But there was no court order prohibiting them from considering cases involving a specific party.
On February 11, 2021, a bigger bench headed by CJP Gulzar Ahmed ruled in CJP Isa’s favor, ruling that Justice Isa was not qualified to hear issues involving the former PM Imran.
As a result, the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan noted that given the fact that Justice Isa had already brought a personal petition against the Prime Minister of Pakistan, it would not be appropriate for him to hear the case under these circumstances. According to a five-page written order in a case pertaining to a news story citing him as announcing allocation of Rs. 500 million to all lawmakers ahead of the Senate polls, “it would be in the interest of justice that the Hon. Judge should not hear matters involving the Prime Minister of Pakistan in order to uphold the principle of un-biasness and impartiality.”
However, because Justice Isa is hearing the party cases after taking over as the CJP, the attorneys are questioning why the PTI is stirring up controversy over this matter.
The PTI attorneys demonstrated their total faith in him. Second, the supreme court has previously decided that the judge alone has the authority to address claims of bias directed towards him.
Even the Balochsitan Bar Council, represented by Hamid Khan, filed a review petition in opposition to the court’s judgment dated February 11, 2011, which prevented Justice Isa from hearing any issues pertaining to Imran. The petition for review is still pending.
Following the ruling on January 13 by the CJP Isa-led bench, which declared the PTI’s intra-party elections to be unlawful, the situation underwent a shift.
Consequently, the PTI lost their electoral emblem. The PTI legal team later retracted their contempt petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the executive authorities for failing to carry out the court’s directive to give the party equal treatment during the elections after being dissatisfied with the SC’s ruling.
It is evident that the parties were unable to get remedy by objecting to the judges’ decisions. Likewise, the superior bars led by the Independent Group supported the PDM-led government’s skepticism of the previous CJP Bandial.
But now CJP Isa has the full support of the same group running the bar.
They won’t even support Imran’s objections regarding IHC CJ Farooq.
It has been observed that a number of attorneys are dissatisfied with the judiciary’s role in the most recent elections, regarding which there have been serious allegations of electoral malpractice, the ramifications of the January 13 order, which have made it difficult for the PTI to obtain reserved seats, the suspension of the Supreme Court ruling to allow civilian trials in military courts, the arrest of PTI female activists, etc.
The PTI has to realize that the judiciary is the only institution that can address its complaints. The PTI was receiving relief from the upper courts when its relationship with the security apparatus was amicable.
Their relationship is currently strained, and the PTI is having trouble getting court rulings in its favor.
I am a dedicated student currently in my seventh semester, pursuing a degree in International Relations. Alongside my academic pursuits, I am actively engaged in the professional field as a content writer at the Rangeinn website.
