On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a directive to former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Azizi Siddiqui, instructing him to identify individuals, including former spy chief General Faiz Hamid, in his plea contesting his dismissal. Led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the court, including Justices Amin-ud-Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Irfan Saadat Khan, resumed the hearing on Siddiqui’s petition challenging his removal by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). During the proceedings, the bench granted Siddiqui one day to nominate the former general and other relevant figures.
The live broadcast of the proceedings on the Supreme Court’s website and YouTube channel featured Siddiqui being represented by lawyer Hamid Khan. Siddiqui’s request for an expedited hearing of his plea was filed earlier this month.
In response to the court’s order, Siddiqui promptly filed a plea seeking to include former army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Faiz, Brigadier (retd) Irfan Ramay, Brigadier (retd) Faisal Marwat, former IHC chief justice Anwar Kasi, and ex-SC registrar Arbab Arif as parties in his case.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Isa underscored the imperative to include accused individuals as parties in the case, emphasizing that institutions should not be defamed, and individuals should be held accountable for their actions. He urged Siddiqui’s lawyer to promptly nominate the accused individuals to enable them to present their positions in the case.
Concerns were raised regarding the maintainability of Siddiqui’s petitions, with the additional attorney general opposing their admissibility for hearing. CJP Isa insisted on affording individuals accused in the case the opportunity to respond.
Siddiqui’s lawyer, Hamid Khan, was tasked with recounting the transcript of the ex-judge’s speech, which purportedly led to his dismissal. Chief Justice Isa expressed unease about the practice of defaming institutions and stressed the significance of transparent proceedings.
The former judge, dismissed from his position in 2018, expressed confidence in receiving “100% justice” and maintained that evidence against the alleged injustice had already been presented. Siddiqui’s case, ongoing since his dismissal, saw its latest hearing on June 13, 2022, where he sought the cancellation of the dismissal notification. The Islamabad Bar Association and Karachi Bar Association are additional parties in the petition.
