PTI urges CJ to desist from ‘court packing’

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders met with Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Friday to convey that the party did not recognize the 26th Constitutional Amendment – the very amendment that paved the way for his appointment – and urged him to refrain from “court packing”.Additionally, the seven-member PTI delegation urged the chief justice to “put your house in order” and ensure the rule of law and the Constitution in the country, asserting that the justice system had been reduced to an “instrument of crime” under his watch and it was his responsibility to fix it.The PTI delegation, comprising National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz, PTI Chairman Barrister Goahr, Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Senator Ali Zafar, MNA Sardar Latif Khosa and renowned lawyer Dr Babar Awan, poured their hearts out before the chief justice on the “overall deteriorating situation” of the rule of law and Constitution in the country.”Put your house in order,” Khosa asked the chief justice, while speaking at a press conference after the meeting. “Five judges of the Supreme Court have repeatedly written that the 26th Amendment should be decided first and until then, there should be no court packing.”Khosa said that “we used the word court packing,” adding court packing – the practice of increasing the number of seats on a court in order to admit judges likely to further one’s own ends or make decisions in one’s favor – is happening and the next generations will suffer the consequences of it.Khosa said that PTI lawmakers told the chief justice that he needed to put his house in order, adding what a common man could expect from judiciary where judges of a high court were running from pillar to post seeking justice. He urged the chief justice to refrain from court packing without first deciding the petitions related to the 26th Constitutional Amendment.During the press conference, Omar Ayub revealed that the chief justice had sent PTI founder Imran Khan’s letter on May 9 and November 26 to the constitutional bench, saying “we said we don’t recognize the 26th Constitutional Amendment”. He said commissions should look into the incidents in line with Khan’s letters.Without specifying much, Ayub specifically mentioned that he took permission from Khan thrice in the presence of other party leaders for holding a meeting with the chief justice. He added that Khan had instructed the party leaders to raise the issue of military courts trying civilians with the chief justice, which the party did.”The rule of law is not only crucial but linked with political and economic progress,” Ayub told the chief justice, adding that the party leaders and workers had continuously been booked in dozens of cases and continuously been harassed. “Protecting judiciary is your responsibility and, being the chief justice, you should leave a legacy of taking steps for the rule of law and the Constitution,” Ayub said.He said a dossier had already been provided to the chief justice regarding the overall deteriorating situation of rule of law, role of agencies, justice system, among other things, adding that details and proposals regarding reforms in district and higher judiciary would soon be submitted to the chief justice.Ayub said the issues of Imran and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s court dates, lack of access of PTI leaders, lawyers and relatives to the couple and the treatment being meted out to the former prime minister in prison were raised. He mentioned that the status of other incarcerated PTI leaders and workers, missing persons and abducted party supporters were also discussed with Chief Justice Afridi.Barrister Gohar said that the delegation informed him that the PTI had been facing “fascism for the past couple of years”. He said that the chief justice had shared the agenda of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) meeting and sought PTI’s suggestions on it, adding that the PTI would soon submit its suggestions.The PTI chairman said that the chief justice was briefed in detail about how Khan and his wife were being treated unfairly as their cases were not being fixed for hearing on time, Khan was sometimes kept in isolation, the authorities deprived him of books and exercise machine, he was not allowed to talk to his children and meet his wife.”This all is for us and most of it is being done in Punjab,” Gohar said. “No one takes your [CJ] court order seriously,” Gohar told the chief justice, adding that the orders pertaining to notification of PTI’s MNAs or Senate elections, among others, were not being implemented.He said “enforced disappearance” of the PTI MNAs and how their families were being treated were also brought into the chief justice’s notice. Gohar also said that the chief justice assured the PTI that he would take steps to find out solutions for the issues raised by the delegation.Salman Akram Raja said that the PTI delegation told the chief justice that, p