ISLAMABAD: A seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court will (today) face tough questions during the re-hearing of petitions against the trial of civilians in military courts on Monday.
The objections raised earlier by the nominated Chief Justice of the country, Qazi Faez Isa, will be repeated by the lawyers of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, who were issued notices to appear for the last time. were gone Saturday
Sources told JEE News on Sunday that apart from the legal and constitutional status of the bench, the lawyers of the Prime Minister and two federal ministers will object to the inclusion in the four-member bench without prejudice to their position on the legal status of the bench. The judges include Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
He will bring new points to challenge the presence of four judges in the bench. The bench, which originally consisted of nine judges, was reduced to a seven-judge bench, as two senior judges, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, objected to the bench’s composition, and by the Chief Objected to the exercise of sole powers. Justice. He declared it against the law passed by Parliament which was part of the book.
The Attorney General of Pakistan will support the arguments of the counsel for the Prime Minister and two federal ministers.
Defense Minister will be represented by Irfan Qadir Advocate while Interior Minister’s lawyer will be Shah Khawar Advocate. The counsel for the respondent would not take their arguments further and made it clear that it would be difficult for the government to accept the bench as a legitimate court and that it could distance itself from the process without announcing a boycott. .
Senator Dr Farogh Naseem, who is seen as the new Sharifuddin Pirzada, will be seen in the corridors of the Supreme Court after a long gap. A team of defense lawyers held an important meeting here on Sunday evening to discuss their case and strategy, sources said.
Sources recalled that the bench started hearing the petitions without issuing a notice to the government and concerned authorities, which would be objected to at some stage.
Defense lawyers are keen to protect the image of the judiciary, which should not be tarnished by a “person-specific” case.
Sources added that it may also insist that the case be heard by a full court bench instead of judges who have faced criticism for their involvement in most of the political cases brought before the Supreme Court.
