No interference in affairs of judiciary: CJP

KARACHI: The Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmad has said there is no interference in the affairs of the judiciary. He said they are and will go on to work freely and independent. The CJP was addressing a dinner meeting hosted in his honour by the Balochistan bar at the Balochistan High Court on Wednesday. Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Jamal Mandokhel and representatives of the bar including Kamran Murtaza also addressed the function.

Justice Gulzar Ahmad also ruled out any compromise over the issue of missing persons, terming it a grave problem while adding that the judiciary will play its due role in addressing it. The chief justice said we hold the constitutional rights of Balochistan dear and there will be no compromise over them. He said the high courts have worked on the cases of missing persons and due to their efforts several have returned to their homes however, many remain missing and we will not compromise over it but will play role to address the issue. Justice Gulzar said the Supreme Court is the guardian of the fundamental rights of the people.

Conceding delay in disposal of cases, the CJP said we are working hard to clear the backlog but require the cooperation of the lawyers for that. He said he considers bench and bar as equal partners and we need to sit down to resolve the problems.

The Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that five dams have been completed in Balochistan, while work on four more under-construction projects will be completed next year.

The Public Health Engineering secretary, during the hearing of Balochistan water shortage case at the Quetta Registry, told a bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed that work had been underway on 100 small dams in the province. The shortage of water in Balochistan will come to an end with the completion of dam projects, he maintained.

The chief justice said that quality of work should not be compromised in the construction of dams. “In Pakistan, something with a life time of 50 years cannot sustain even for five years,” the CJP remarked. “We cannot send everything to NAB for inquiry.”

On this, the Balochistan advocate general informed the court that the government, through the chief minister’s inspection team, is keeping a close eye on the projects. Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered early start of the construction of Winder Dam, asserting that the project should be completed within one year. He also directed the concerned officials to complete all dam projects in Balochistan within three years and warned of action against responsible persons if the projects were not completed in time. The bench also directed the officials to submit a progress report on the Winder Dam project after every three months. The court adjourned further hearing of the case for three months.