A new era of Justice to resume in Pakistan with Justice ‘Asif Saeed Khosa’ in charge
- “I will build a dam against fake cases, against pending cases,” : Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa promised.
- “I want to build a dam against false witnesses as well,”: Hon. Justice Khosa
- “I also want to pay off the country’s loans — I will pay off the loans of cases that have been pending for years”: Hon. Justice Khosa
ISLAMABAD (January 17, 2019): Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who will take charge as the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday 18th January, said the Supreme Court will use its authority to take ‘suo moto’ action as a last resort only.
Speaking at a full court reference held in honour of the outgoing ‘Chief Justice Hon. Mian Saqib Nisar’ earlier today, Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said: “The authority to take ‘suo moto’ action will only be used sparingly and for significant national matters,” he said, adding that the [apex] court would set up parameters for ‘suo moto’ powers.
Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said “there should be no military intervention in civilian matters and vowed to speed up delivery of justice in civil courts”.
Showing his view towards ‘Military court trials’ Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa expressed that “the trial of a civilian in a military court is considered wrong across the world. It is said that military courts take less time to issue verdicts. Civilian courts should try to resolve cases in a short period of time. High courts should exercise powers within their jurisdiction.” “When has the judiciary interfered in the matters of other institutions?” Justice Khosa asked. “Army and intelligence agencies should not interfere in civilian matters.” He further said.
Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa emphasised that all institutions need to work together for the progress of the country, and that there was a need for conversation on whether any institution was interfering in another institution’s work.
Civilian supremacy and accountability are indispensable for strengthening democracy, he observed.
“Let’s talk about how to make civilian supremacy a certainty, let’s talk about how to ensure civilian accountability without compromising on democracy,” he invited.
Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa also observed that “running the state’s affairs is a serious responsibility”. He further said that: “The job of the parliament is to legislate, not provide development funds. Transfers and postings are not among the parliament’s duties either.”
Referring to Justice Nisar’s efforts to raise donations to build the Diamer-Bhasha dam, Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said that he too he wanted to build a dam. “I will build a dam against fake cases, against pending cases,” he promised.
“Currently there are 1.9 million cases pending in courts. Three thousand judges cannot dispense of so many cases,” Hon. Justice Khosa noted.
“I want to build a dam against false witnesses as well,” he said, adding: “The power to take ‘suo moto’ notices will be used sparingly.”
“I also want to pay off the country’s loans — I will pay off the loans of cases that have been pending for years.”
Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa emphasized that he will ensure the quick dispensation of justice.
Analysts claim that on Friday 18th January 2019 when the new chief justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan ‘Hon. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa’ will take charge, a new era of judicial reforms and justice delivery will initiate like never seen before which is an evolution of the strengthening of judiciary having been started from the time of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry.