Constitution permits appointment of ad hoc judges: Azam Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar has said the constitution permits the appointment of ad hoc judges.

Expressing his opinion in a statement today, he said ad hoc judges should be appointed.

The Law Minister rejected reports about extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Issa.

The Law Minister said the issue of invoking Article 6 against the PTI leaders can be brought in the Parliament. He said Article 6 can be debated in Parliament.

Meanwhile, Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar on Thursday declined an offer to serve as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court, making him the second judge to refuse the position after facing criticism. Earlier, retired Supreme Court judge Mushir Alam had also turned down the same offer for a three-year term.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is set to meet on Friday to discuss the appointment of four retired Supreme Court judges.

Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar, speaking at a ceremony at the Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad, stated that he declined the ad hoc judge position for “personal reasons.” He affirmed that the appointment of ad hoc judges is legal and called the criticism “baseless.”

Supporting Chief Justice Isa’s decision, Baqar, who previously served as the caretaker chief minister of Sindh, emphasized the necessity of appointing ad hoc judges to address the backlog of cases.