Judicial independence has, for the millionth time, become a heated buzzword as the federal government sharpens its knife and the suo moto jurisdiction has landed on the butcher\u2019s block.
\nThere can be no two qualms about the necessity for the independence of the judiciary along with that of the legislature and executive because the three pillars need to work in complete harmony to ensure a smooth running of the state. But the decision to amend Articles 175-A and 209 of the constitution cannot be taken on political whims and anyone reading the tea leaves would find it incredibly hard to miss the link between the latest crusade and PML(N) top leadership\u2019s organised campaign against the higher judiciary.
\nA no-punches-pulled onslaught over verdicts that go against the party\u2019s wishes can, under no circumstances, be akin to calling a spade a spade. Is then, the recent wave, signalling to the bench to mend its ways or get ready for a new status quo? The staggering similarities with the dictators\u2019 tactics to tighten the clasp in the days gone put aside, there can be no better time to start the discomforting discussion about the responsibilities of the legal fraternity and the ways in which our jurors have erred.
\nJustice Asif Saeed Khosa had famously remarked, \u201cThe real threats to independence of judiciary are from within \u2013 stemming from the personality of the judge himself.\u201d That the messiah is not corrupt holds no bearing whatsoever for the obsession with knocking down every door; summoning whosoever and whensoever.
\nA lot of t\u2019s need to be crossed and i\u2019s need to be dotted to ensure the much-talked-about system of judicial accountability is as transparent as it seems. Only last year, Pakistan\u2019s justice system was ranked 130th by the World Justice Project.
\nIf the present setup is unable to satisfy the principle of the natural judge (right to a free trial) propagated by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, what purpose does the national inclination to follow the frequent social media storms over headline-worthy suo motu notices serve? The other shoe better drop fast! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Judicial independence has, for the millionth time, become a heated buzzword as the federal government sharpens its knife and the suo moto jurisdiction has landed on the butcher\u2019s block. There can be no two qualms about the necessity for the independence of the judiciary along with that of the legislature and executive because the three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[3415],"class_list":{"0":"post-274396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial","7":"tag-tough-decisions"},"yoast_head":"\n