PM Imran Khan himself allowed ‘someone’ to travel abroad: CJP

ISLAMABAD: Referring to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s foreign travel on medical grounds, Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Imran Khan himself agreed for ‘someone’ to travel abroad, so it should not be said that the judiciary was the sole authority in the matter.

A day ago, the prime minister had said in an indirect reference to Nawaz Sharif’s travel to London that there are separate laws for the weak and powerful in the country, requesting the CJP to deliver prompt justice.

While addressing the inauguration ceremony of mobile app SC Call Centre, complete video-link facility in five courts as well as Research Centre here, the chief justice said that the prime minister should not refer to the judiciary as powerful.

"Don’t give us this taunt referring to 'the powerful'. Nobody is powerful before us (the judiciary) other than the law itself," he said.

The CJP said that the prime minister should refrain from issuing such statements as he is the chief executive of the government.

"The particular case that the respected prime minister referred to, I do not want to comment on that. But he (PM Imran) should know that they themselves allowed somebody (Nawaz Sharif) to go abroad. The debate in the High Court was only over modalities. Please be careful (with statements)," said the chief justice.

Justice Khosa said that they have been working without resources, adding that those criticising the courts should be careful.

The CJP said that the current judiciary should not be compared to that of 2009 as it is free now. While referring to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, the CJP said that the courts are about to announce verdict in the case of a former chief of army staff.

"For us, no one is eitherbig or small or powerful. We convicted one prime minister and disqualified another. A (former) chief of army staff’s case is about to be decided soon. Are these examples not in front of you? For us, only the law is powerful," he said.

The top judge lamented that the judiciary is working without proper resources and only above 3,000 judges gave verdicts in hundreds of thousands cases last year. “If one high-profile case gets highlighted by media then it does not mean the 3.6 million cases by a mere 3,100 judges should be forgotten,” he said.

He emphasised that the dedication and impartiality of the institution should be respected, saying: "Nobody is perfect. No institution, no human being is perfect. But if some people are working with such dedication, please encourage and facilitate them."

The chief justice asked the prime minister to review his statement and balance it with the role being played by the judiciary in accordance with law.

Justice Khosa welcomed the prime minister’s statement for offering the resources for improvement in the judicial system. “The prime minister is the chief executive and an elected representative and we welcome his offer,” he said.

The chief justice said that they did not ask for additional funds, did not ask for raise in the annual budget and most importantly, they did not ask for any legislation for bringing improvement in the judiciary, but launched various gigantic projects within their own resources. Therefore, the chief justice said that a segment in society instead of criticising the judges should laud their role for dispensation of speedy justice.

Justice Khosa mentioned that in 187 working days, the judiciary has concluded some 73,000 trials besides disposing of a large number of criminal cases, pending since 1994.

“The appeals filed in these criminal cases, majority of them were of poor and weaker people,” the CJP said, adding that all are equal in the eyes of law.

The CJP said that in 23 districts of the country, there is not a single case of narcotics pending. He said that in 20 districts, there is no family matter case pending and in 29 districts, there is not a single case of rent appeal pending as well.

Moreover, the CJP said that the Supreme Court also took steps for police reforms and post of SP Complaints was created in each district that has also reduced 30 percent burden of cases on district courts and 15 percent on high courts.

The chief justice extended thanks to IT Committee of the Supreme Court headed by SC Judge Mushir Alam and comprising of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Judge Supreme Court, and other stakeholders including Ministry of Law and Justice, Nadra, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL-P) US Department of State, US Department of Justice and Comsats Islamabad and the team for their untiring efforts, devotion and dedication to materialise the vision of expeditious and inexpensive justice through the application of information technology.

Justice Mushir Alam while addressing the ceremony said that launching of IT-based applications was litigant-friendly initiative towards transformation of the Supreme Court of Pakistan through Information Communication Technology (ICT) so as to make judicial system more responsive to the needs of people approaching the court for redressal their grievances.