THE Government has done well by completing the necessary formalities in advance to clear unnecessary ambiguities about the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). On Wednesday, President Dr Arif Alvi approved and the Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification regarding appointment of senior puisne judge of the apex court Justice Qazi Faez Isa as Chief Justice of Pakistan with effect from 17 September 2023.
Thanks to the criteria determined by the top court, there is never any ambiguity as to who would succeed whom but the treacherous environment, at times, creates suspicion and doubts about what exactly would happen when an incumbent completes his tenure. There were conspiracy theories about appointment of the forthright Qazi Faez Isa as the CJP and rumours about alleged desire of the incumbent Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial to seek an extension in his tenure. Some moves including aborted attempt to sideline Qazi Isa through a reference in the Supreme Judicial Council and withholding of the decision on the request of the federation to withdraw the curative review reference against the senior-most judge also clouded minds of the people. However, the issuance of the notification has ended all rumours and apprehensions and now Justice Qazi Faez Isa would assume charge on retirement of Justice Umar Ata Bandial in mid-September. His appointment augurs well for the judicial system of the country as he is rightly considered to be a thorough professional, fanatically honest and firm believer in the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution. What people saw happening in the country during the last one year bruised the image and credibility of the judiciary to play its role as a custodian of law and the Constitution as; some jurists believe many verdicts were delivered on the basis other than merit and fair-play. There are, therefore, expectations that Qazi Faez Isa will have to work hard to reform the system and restore damaged credibility of the institution during the limited period he will have at his disposal.
