Justice Mansoor Ali Shah breaks silence on resignation rumours

ISLAMABAD: Senior puisne judge of Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Saturday reacted to rumours regarding his resignation, ARY News reported.

In a brief interaction with media persons, Justice Mansoor categorically denied the rumours, stating that they were mere speculations.

When asked by a journalist if the rumours about his resignation were true, Justice Mansoor replied, “These are all speculations. I will not run away.” He further added, “I will continue to do whatever work I can.”

This statement came a day after Justice Shah wrote to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, requesting that a full court be constituted to hear the pleas against the 26th constitutional amendment.

In his letter, Justice Shah also requested that the scheduled meeting of the Judicial Commission on December 6 be postponed.

Justice Shah’s request highlighted the significance of the constitutional amendment pleas, which require a thorough and comprehensive hearing by a full court. The chief justice has been asked to direct the registrar of the Supreme Court to fix the pleas for hearing before a full court.

It’s worth mentioning here that prior to the appointment of Yahya Afridi as CJP, PPP chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah would be the next Chief Justice of Pakistan.

It is important to note here that earlier,  in his letter, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah maintained that he did not attend former CJP Saqib Nisar’s reference because he “overstepped his authority” and would also not attend Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s Full Court Reference as he has more “worrying reasons”.

Also read: Justice Mansoor accuses outgoing CJP Isa of creating divisions in judiciary

“When Saqib Nisar overstepped the boundaries of his constitutional role and ventured into matters beyond his jurisdiction, I made the decision not to attend his reference and placed my reasons through a letter,” Justice Shah said and added “Today, I find myself compelled to make the same decision, though for different but more worrying reasons.”

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah stated that the duty of a Chief Justice is to defend the judiciary’s independence.

He said Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa remained complacent and indifferent to external influences and pressures on the judiciary. “Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa acted like an ostrich with his head in the sand,” he added.

“He showed neither the courage nor the moral fortitude to defend the judiciary rather ceded ground to those who sought to weaken the courts for their own gain thereby compromising the very foundation of the rule of law,” SC top judge Shah noted.

Justice Shah said Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa opened the doors of interference and betrayed the sacred role of the judiciary while he failed to create harmony among the judges.