Islamabad, Pakistan: After granting 51 relief bails in less than 10 minutes to former Federal Minister and son of former Governor Punjab Hammad Azhar, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan has expressed concern over non-consideration for the elevation of judges to the Supreme Court from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
He is retiring on April 15 (born 15 April 1962). He wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Chairman Judicial Commission of Pakistan Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on April 3, 2024, complaining that he was not considered for promotion/elevation and posting in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan had been providing relief to PTI followers allegedly involved in the May 9, 2023 mutiny cases for providing a passage to hold the February 8, 2024 General Elections. One can remember that PTI former Federal Minister Zartaj Gull dramatically appeared before Peshawar High Court and the court was kept open till midnight to provide her relief bail as she wanted to contest General Elections 2024. Therefore, providing over 50 bails in 10 minutes to PTI leader Hammad Azhar was not unprecedented or unexpected but of course, it seems that the judicial system of the country is crumbling where even judges are behaving like members of political parties. This polarization is affecting the judicial process all over the country, particularly in Peshawar High Court.
Granting over 50 relief bails in 10 minutes and now writing a letter to CJP and accusing him of favoritism indicates that the May 9 Mutiny is yet not over but changed the dynamics only.
The majority of legal circles in Islamabad believe that the Peshawar High Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan had become a protective layer against the state and in favor of those who were allegedly involved in the May 9 Mutiny. The situation was so grave that Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, while hearing the lifetime disqualification case observed that “those who made the country hostage are again contesting the election”. The time has testified that many who were allegedly involved and were seen and heard in videos while directing PTI followers to attack military installations are now free and enjoying their terms as members of National as well as provincial assemblies and credit mostly goes to Chief Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan for facilitating them to get the relief for contesting February 8, 2024 General Elections. It is harsh to claim that Pakistan’s judiciary which played a pivotal role in making Imran Khan the prime minister in the past is still playing a pivotal role to safeguard him and protect who attacked the state on May 9 on the alleged orders of Imran Khan.
There are several questions that are yet to be answered by the judiciary of Peshawar High Court including how did Hamad Azhar, the fugitive of May 9, reach Peshawar High Court, how the court held, how did he get relief and who were the managers of this scene?
It may be mentioned that Chief Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan on Wednesday wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Chairman Judicial Commission of Pakistan Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah expressing concern over non-consideration for the elevation of judges to the Supreme Court from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. He accused the CJP of arbitrariness, discrimination, and favoritism in the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Everybody knows who deals with media that the top targets of those who tried to destabilize Pakistan through the May 9 Mutiny are COAS Gen Asim Munir and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and all powers behind the scenes are trying their best to discredit these two personalities who made General Elections possible in the country and sailed the country out of political crisis that was intensified after May 9, 2023 Mutiny. The letter of Chief Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan could be one of the moves for discrediting Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa because the prime target of the letter of Chief Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan is Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.
