“I am surprised over the petitioners’ request to call back their petitions,” the CJP remarked
Justice Qazi Faez Isa took oath as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on September 5, 2014. — Photo courtesy Supreme Court of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned why everyone is scared of revealing the truth about the reasons for withdrawing the review petitions against the Faizabad sit-in judgment and directed the Attorney General to mention who instructed to withdraw the plea.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Athar Minallah heard multiple review petitions, filed against the apex court judgment pronounced in 2019 in a suo moto case on Faizabad sit-in.
The chief justice told the parties seeking to withdraw their pleas — the federal government, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the Election Commission of Pakistan, and others — to submit their responses in writing and explain the reasons behind their decision. “I am surprised over the petitioners’ request to call back their petitions,” the CJP remarked, noting that he wanted to give time to the petitioners as he adjourned the hearing till November 1. Why was everyone so scared to reveal the truth, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa asked the counsels for the petitioners who had earlier requested the court to allow them to withdraw their instant review petitions. Briefly, before adjourning the hearing, the CJP told the parties that their decision to withdraw their pleas meant that they had accepted the SC’s order to be true. “The truth will set you free if you narrate the truth”, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked.
Earlier, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan informed the court that the Federation through the Ministry of Defense also no longer interested in pursuing the review petition against the court’s judgment on the Faizabad sit-in. The Chief Justice asked the AG as to why he is withdrawing the review petition adding that earlier, it was stated that there were some flaws in the judgment. So you will have to tell us the reasons. The AG, however, submitted that when the review petition was filed at that time there was another government. The CJP then asked as to why he did not file the written application in this regard. The AG, however, said that right now he is giving a statement.
Likewise, Pemra’s counsel Hafiz Ahsan sought withdrawal of the plea, saying the media regulatory body did not want to pursue the case. The CJP asked on whose directions he was doing so. CJP Isa reiterated, “Previously, it was said that the verdict is full of mistakes. Now, are the mistakes no longer there in the verdict?” Is there any reason to withdraw the review petitions? “The ones who have remained in authority make speeches on TV and YouTube. They say ‘We were not heard’. Now we are sitting here to listen [so] come and speak.” The top judge then observed that the court would keep Pemra’s petition pending, adding, “So that no one says tomorrow that we were not heard.”
Recalling that Pemra was told that the decision to file a review plea was made during a board meeting, the CJP remarked, “This is the routine in Pakistan that the order has come from above.” CJP Isa then proceeded to ask, “Where is the apology letter from the election commission for filing the review petition? Similarly, the apex court allowed Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed to hire new counsel after the court was told that his lawyer was appointed as provincial minister. PTI lawyer Ali Zafar also told the court that the party did not want to pursue the matter. “Do you have the authority to take back the petition?” CJP Isa asked. “If you want to become a respondent, the court will allow you.” To this, advocate Zafar replied, “No, we do not want to become a respondent in this case.” The court further directed petitioner Ejazul Haq to submit an affidavit that he has reservations over the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) report on the Faizabad report. “I was termed as an irresponsible politician in the judgment. I did not speak in favour of the sit-in,” Haq told the court. CJP Isa observed: “Your name was mentioned in the ISI report. We did not write anyone’s name as an irresponsible political leader.” “You should submit your affidavit,” the court directed Haq’s lawyer.
Here, CJP Isa asked, “Attorney General sahib, why not there be a fine applied on all, including you? “The court’s time was wasted. The country was also kept disturbed. Now, you all are coming and saying that you want to withdraw the pleas,” he said. “Was your statement wrong at that time or today? Even if the petitions are withdrawn, what will happen to our verdict?”The chief justice went on to add, “We were sitting [and thinking] that perhaps we had made a mistake in the verdict.”
Addressing AGP Awan, the CJP said, “Malik sahib, this was not expected from a senior person such as you.” At this point during the hearing, Justice Minallah asked, “Have all the institutions decided that what is written in the verdict is correct? “The country can only develop through the protection of fundamental rights,” he remarked. Here, CJP Isa observed that the court would keep the withdrawal pleas pending and directed, “If someone wants to say anything, they may say in writing.
The top judge then asked AGP Awan why he did not raise the question of why the review petitions were not fixed for hearing before.
“Write that we were given an order [and] that a review petition was filed. Write where the order came from as well. If you want to say that bury it and ignore [the matter], then write that as well. “Should we also bury what happened on May 12 and how many people were killed?” he asked, referring to the 2007 violent riots when around 50 people were killed and over 100 wounded in sporadic armed attacks on rallies organised by members of political parties and legal fraternity. “It is not correct to say new government or old government. The government stays the government, regardless of the party in power,” the CJP observed. He added that the ECP was also not “former or current” but that it was an “institution”. “There should be accountability for everyone. We can start from ourselves,” CJP Isa said. “Why is everyone so afraid to speak the truth? Except for a few, everyone wants to withdraw their petitions,” he remarked. Here, AGP Awan asserted, “The court’s verdict should be implemented.” The top judge then said, “It is very interesting that those who should have filed a review petition did not do so. Tehreek-i-Labbaik did not file any review petition [and] accepted the verdict.
“The late Khadim Rizvi deserves to be praised for this. Everyone makes mistakes [but] accepting them is a huge thing,” he added.
AGP Awan also read out the SC decision on the Faizabad sit-in in the courtroom. “After this [Faizabad] sit-in, many other similar incidents came to light,” the CJP said adding that had the court’s verdict been implemented back then other incidents would not have taken place. “We will move in the right direction by implementing the 17 directions highlighted in the judgment,” the AGP assured. The attorney general requested the court to adjourn the hearing for two months. To this, CJP said that “two months is a very long time”. AGP Awan then said, “give a month to let you know about the progress”.
