LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Malik Shahzad remarked that the people sitting in the government want to refer cases to their Favourite judge. The government has no trust in the judges of LHC or Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The LHC on Thursday rejected the government’s request to transfer the cases of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi to another court.
Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmed Khan presided over the hearing regarding the government’s request to move the May 9 cases involving Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and other accused from a Rawalpindi court to a different venue.
During the proceedings, Chief Justice Malik Shahzad expressed dismay over attempts to pressure the judiciary, remarking that the country was being made a mockery of. He criticized the emerging trend of making speeches against unfavorable judges.
He questioned whether there was any proof of bias or bribery involving the judge and asked what the perceived danger in prison was. He pointed out that judges do not operate in isolation, querying where it was written that a judge should cease working if a reference is filed against them.
Chief Justice Malik Shahzad also commented that the current government seems to prefer cases being referred to judges of their choice, indicating a lack of trust in the judges of both the LHC and the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
In response, the Prosecutor General Punjab stated that there was no personal issue with any judge, to which Chief Justice Malik retorted that this appeared to be a personal issue for the government.
Ultimately, the LHC dismissed the Punjab government’s requests to transfer the cases of Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi to another court and imposed a fine of Rs200,000.
