ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday asked judges performing electoral duties to scrutinize the nomination papers in accordance with the law, without succumbing to any pressure and treat all and sundry equally.
In a letter addressed to district & sessions judges, additional district & sessions judges and senior civil judges/civil judges who have been appointed district returning officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers, he said deployment of judicial officers in the election process was in the national interest.
The chief justice observed that now it was their moral and legal duty to prove their worth and credibility by conducting elections in a free, fair and transparent manner.
He noted that as the process of entertaining nomination papers and scrutiny was under way, any decision taken by the judiciary would go a long way in shaping the destiny of the nation.
“Therefore, we should come out with commitment to enforce the constitutional mandate and ensure that elected representatives come forward to govern this country without having any label of any disqualification,” he said.
Justice Chaudhry recalled that while formulating the national judicial policy, it was considered appropriate to keep the judiciary away from the election process so that it could concentrate all its strength on clearing backlog of cases and on expeditious dispensation of justice. However, acceding to the request of the Election Commission to ensure transparency and credibility of the electoral process, the NJPMC had granted relaxation in the National Judicial Policy.
Thus, the judicial officers have been deputed to perform functions for conducting general elections for the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats.
The chief justice said that due to preoccupation with judicial work, it would not be possible for him to reach each and every judicial officer engaged in the election process. So he was sending this letter with a pledge that “we must strive together to strengthen the democratic order and enrich the judicial norms”.
He observed that deployment of judicial officers for electoral duties was in the national interest.
