A senior judge of the Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday said the government is not implementing the court’s orders.
“We have given sacrifice of over 70 judges but the court orders are not being implemented,” Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday said in his remarks during the hearing of petitions challenging various clauses of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. The apex court’s 17 judges’ bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry is hearing petitions against 18th Amendment passed by Parliament recently. Justice Ramday said the judges have offered sacrifices for an independent judiciary but now the court orders are being left unimplemented. He asked, “Whether the representatives of the people have discussed the independence of judiciary? The bench hearing the case represents the people. We want to save the system however if the system is prone to suicide what can we do?”
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in his remarks said that “We want continuation of democracy. The case doesn’t pose any threat to democratic dispensation in country.” He added, “We have no objection over separation between the judiciary and the executive so as we have decided that no judge will accept an executive office”.
Justice Chaudhry said that all sides have agreed over the independence of judiciary, “We are only discussing its procedure”.
Earlier, advocate Akram Sheikh continued his arguments over the petition filed by his client Nadeem Ahmed.
He argued that the constitutional reforms committee did not have the mandate of constituting the commission for appointment of judges.
He said that in UK the judges were consulted when the law of the appointment of the judges was amended. “But in Pakistan the recommendations were not invited from the law commission,” he added. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till Thursday.