Current Final

Tag: Supreme Court

  • Khan tells Supreme Court that country under unannounced martial law

    Khan tells Supreme Court that country under unannounced martial law

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on June 6 told Supreme Court judges that the country was facing an “unannounced martial law” during the hearing of the NAB amendments case hearing.

    Khan also talked about the “victimisation” he had to face since his ouster from power in April 2022.

    The jailed PTI founder appeared before the Supreme Court’s five-member bench via video link from Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where has been incarcerated since his conviction in the Toshakhana case last year.

    The SC bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard the case.

    Interestingly, Khan quoted India’s example during his argument that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was released on bail ahead of the Indian elections to run his campaign.

    Furthermore, Khan expressed dissatisfaction with the top court’s judgement rejecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government plea requesting the live streaming of the case saying to CJP Isa, “You wrote [in the judgment] that I did political point scoring during the last hearing. I did not get it, what political scoring did I resort to?”

    CJP replied that a judge does not owe an explanation to anyone and that he can “file a review petition.”

    Criticising alleged political victimisation, the PTI chairman suggested that the Supreme Court should appoint a NAB chairman.

    “When opposition and government fail to evolve consensus on the name of NAB chairman appointment then a ‘third umpire’ makes the decision,” he said, adding that the NAB is working under the “third umpire”.

    “Solve the problems by sitting in parliament. This country needs to move forward,” the CJP said to Khan.

  • Justice Minallah says live streaming of Khan’s appearance in court not against law

    Justice Minallah says live streaming of Khan’s appearance in court not against law

    Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah on June 5 issued a dissenting note on the majority verdict against the petition seeking live streaming of the hearing of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendment case, stating that there was “no substantive reason” to deny the public the right to have access to court proceedings.

    In a 13-page long document, the judge asserted that “Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi is the founder and undisputed leader of a major political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).” Therefore live streaming his court appearances wasn’t against the law.

    The development came after the Supreme Court released a detailed verdict on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s petition last week, stating that broadcasting the court proceedings of cases involving politicians can be used for political “point-scoring”.

  • ‘Irresponsible statement’ Justice Munib Akhtar, CJP Isa trade verbal blows

    ‘Irresponsible statement’ Justice Munib Akhtar, CJP Isa trade verbal blows

    Monday’s hearing of the case pertaining to Sunni Ittehad Council’s reserved seats turned into a salvo of verbal blows in the Supreme Court.

    A slightly heated exchange of words took place between the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Munib Akhtar.

    During the hearing, Justice Akhtar remarked, “There is no logic in the Election Commission’s orders because, on one hand, it says SIC did not contest elections and therefore did not win any seats but on the other hand it is a parliamentary party as well.”

    Meanwhile, other judges also passed remarks to which CJP Qazi Faez Isa stopped the petitioner’s lawyer Faisal Siddiqui from answering the questions of the judges.

    Here Justice Munib intervened and said, “This is an unfair statement, every judge of the full court has the right to ask questions.”

  • There are no black sheep in supreme court, Justice Minallah tells PM

    There are no black sheep in supreme court, Justice Minallah tells PM

    Supreme Court Judge Justice Athar Minallah while talking to the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), advised the AG to tell the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that there are no black sheep in the SC.

    A five member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa heard the government’s appeals against the nullification of the NAB amendments in the top court today.

    Justice Minallah further said, “Ask the Prime Minister if there are any black sheep in the Supreme Court then file a reference against them.”

    The comment by Justice Athar came just two days after PM Shehbaz while addressing the PML-N General Workers’ Council said, “Majority of judges agree on the country’s prosperity, but a few black sheep in the judiciary are bent on giving relief to Imran Khan.”

  • Supreme Court rejects petition for live coverage of NAB amendment case

    Supreme Court rejects petition for live coverage of NAB amendment case

    The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s request for live streaming of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendment case hearing on Thursday, Geo News reported.

    The top court rejected the plea filed by the KP advocate general, with Justice Athar Minallah being in favour of live broadcasting of the case.

    “The [hearing of] case should be broadcast live since this was the case before as well,” the judge said.

    The development comes as the SC is hearing intra-court appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments against the NAB amendments struck down by the top court.

    Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Minallah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi are part of the larger SC bench hearing the case.

  • First acknowledge past mistakes, SC writes to British HC

    First acknowledge past mistakes, SC writes to British HC

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan penned a letter to the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Pakistan Jane Marriott, defending the top court rulings including stripping the PTI of its symbol while reminding her of past British injustices.

    “The matter was resolved in just 12 days by the Supreme Court, and general elections were held throughout Pakistan on 8 February 2024; a copy of the decision is attached as ‘A’,” read the letter by SC.

    It then went on to defend the SC ruling in which a political party was stripped of its electoral symbol days before the election, “To ensure compliance with this democratic principle the law stipulates that if a political party does not hold intra-party elections, then it would not be eligible for an election symbol.”

    It further criticised the British for its complicity in “violent undemocratic mistakes” such as overthrowing the elected democratic government of Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, to capture Iranian oil.

    The letter also mentioned the British role in the creation of a settler-colonial state Israel and urged the UK commissioner to acknowledge its past mistakes.

  • Dubai Leaks: Justice Mansoor says he didn’t get possession of UAE property

    Dubai Leaks: Justice Mansoor says he didn’t get possession of UAE property

    Supreme Court’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has clarified his position regarding his name in the Dubai Leaks scandal, stating that he didn’t buy the Dubai property due to loss of investment there, The News reported on Saturday.

    Dubai Unlocked — a six-month investigative project with reporters from 74 media outlets in 58 countries — in which 17,000 Pakistanis were made public who owned properties in the city with a combined value of around $11 billion.

    Among the Pakistanis listed in the property leaks are President Asif Ali Zardari’s three children, Hussain Nawaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s wife, Sharjeel Memon and family members, Senator Faisal Vawda, Farah Gogi, Sher Afzal Marwat, four MNAs and half a dozen MPAs from the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies.

    Justice Mansoor of SC’s name also appeared on the list for owning a property in the Maison Residence Collection in the downtown Jabal Ali area of Dubai.

    Justice, in his defence, acknowledged having made the investment as a lawyer in 2009 but it failed to materialise due to the project not being completed and he lost his investments.

    “My tax filings are done by AF Ferguson & Co., Lahore and if you desire, I can connect you with them for confirmation of the above,” the judge’s response read.

  • Supreme Court to hear Suo Moto against Faisal Vawda today

    Supreme Court to hear Suo Moto against Faisal Vawda today

    The Supreme Court, on 17 May, will hear the suo moto case against independent Senator Faisal Vawda for his verbal attack against judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

    The case will be heard by a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.

    Earlier, Vawda held a press conference in which he strongly criticised the IHC judges who penned the explosive letter a few weeks back to the Supreme Judicial Council alleging interference of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.

    Faisal Vawda said that institutions are being attacked.

    “Stop targeting the institutions, enough is enough. If there is any interference by institutions, then provide evidence and we will stand together [against it],” said Vawda.

    IHC also responded to the Senator’s remarks saying that the rules do not dictate that a High Court judge needs to renounce foreign residency or citizenship.

  • Who leaked Khan’s image from Supreme Court?

    Who leaked Khan’s image from Supreme Court?

    The Supreme Court (SC) has started an investigation after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) released an image of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from today’s hearing in the National Accountability Bruea (NAB) amendments case.

    The picture appears to have been snapped during today’s hearing when the former Prime Minister appeared before SC via video link in the case related to changes in NAB laws.

    The bench comprises Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi.

    Imran Khan is currently in Adiala jail on multiple sentences.

    The photo is the first image taken after Imran’s arrest from Zaman Park in Toshakhana reference last year.

    The image released by PTI showed that Imran Khan is sitting on the chair wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves folded.

  • CJP Isa says has received no complaints of ‘interference’ in judiciary

    CJP Isa says has received no complaints of ‘interference’ in judiciary

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa stated on Thursday that he did not receive any complaints of interference in the judiciary by any High Court judge.

    “Since I have been Chief Justice [of the Supreme Court of Pakistan], I have not received a single complaint from any high court judge that there has been any interference in their work,” Justice Isa said while speaking at Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA).

    Isa also stated that if there were any complaints of meddling then it would have happened before his tenure.

    “So, this is a thing to bear in mind that interference is not acceptable but at the same time nothing has been reported to me during … my watch,” said CJP Isa.

    The statement comes after six judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) last month wrote a shocking letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging blatant interference by intelligence agencies in judicial matters.