Chief Justice responds to Justice Mansoor’s concerns regarding Practice and Procedure Committee

Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, has responded to senior-most judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s letter concerning the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Committee.

According to sources, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah had refused to attend the committee meeting and had written a letter expressing concerns over the presidential ordinance and questioning the exclusion of Justice Muneeb Akhtar from the committee.

In his response, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa addressed Justice Shah’s allegations, stating that Justice Shah accused him of bypassing Justice Yahya Afridi, another senior judge, without knowing the facts.

The Chief Justice clarified that it was Justice Muneeb Akhtar who did not want Justice Afridi on the committee.

He further explained that efforts were made to contact Justice Yahya Afridi for the September 20 meeting. When he was unavailable, Justice Amin was requested to delay his departure to Lahore to attend the meeting.

Chief Justice Isa also pointed out that Justice Mansoor had not informed the Chief Justice’s office about his non-attendance at the committee meeting, resulting in the meeting’s postponement.

Two days later, Justice Mansoor sent a letter stating that he would not attend any meeting until his ultimatum was met.

The Chief Justice mentioned that Justice Yahya Afridi was asked to join the committee in Justice Mansoor’s presence, but Afridi declined.

Sources reveal that the Chief Justice provided 11 reasons for not including Justice Muneeb Akhtar in the Practice and Procedure Committee.

The Chief Justice also emphasized that Justice Muneeb Akhtar had shown a very harsh attitude towards senior judges, and this exclusion was done at the insistence of Justice Mansoor.

He added that legally, Justice Mansoor cannot question which judge the Chief Justice includes in the committee.

However, in the spirit of transparency, Chief Justice Isa shared the reasons for Justice Muneeb’s exclusion.

Justice Muneeb had refused to hear urgent constitutional cases, which the law mandates must be scheduled within 14 days.

Despite this, he prioritized his vacation, showing a disregard for the case load.

Furthermore, Justice Muneeb’s attitude towards senior (ad-hoc) judges was disrespectful, and he limited them to hearing only 1,100 cases, excluding them from the Shariah Appellate Bench.

The Chief Justice concluded by stating that Justice Muneeb Akhtar’s inappropriate behavior towards a fellow committee member, who was also a Chief Justice, and his preference for issuing interim orders without fully participating in case hearings, had also been a point of concern among his colleagues.