The government has not yet issued a notification for the appointment of Supreme Court senior puisne judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has scheduled a full-court reference to honor outgoing Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
The Supreme Court has sent out two letters announcing that this full-court reference will take place in Courtroom No. 1 of the apex court building on October 25 (Friday).
One letter, addressed to the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), requests that he provide a copy of his speech in advance. Speeches will be delivered by the Attorney-General for Pakistan, the vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, the SCBA president, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and outgoing CJ Isa during the event.
In a separate letter to Justice Shah and the Attorney-General, the SC assistant registrar noted that although it is customary to hold a farewell dinner for such occasions, CJ Isa has declined the offer due to the high cost, estimated at around Rs2 million.
It remains uncertain whether any Supreme Court judge personally invited CJ Isa to the farewell dinner. However, the issuance of these letters indicates that there is no legal basis for retaining Justice Isa in his current position.
Since March, there have been speculations that the current government might attempt to extend CJ Isa’s tenure for the sake of stability. Initially, the government considered establishing a fixed tenure for the Chief Justice, then later suggested increasing the retirement age for all superior court judges by three years. These proposals were reportedly discussed with senior judges.
However, these plans were complicated when a three-member bench led by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah suspended a Peshawar High Court ruling regarding reserved seats and an Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notification that allocated 78 reserved seats to other political parties.
This interim order reportedly caused dissatisfaction among key officials across various departments.
Subsequently, the government lost its two-thirds majority following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the reserved seats case on July 12. The government is still working to regain this majority in order to amend the Constitution.
Additionally, a bench led by CJ Isa reinstated the ECP’s decision on recounting votes in three constituencies, resulting in the PTI losing three National Assembly seats.
A larger bench headed by CJ Isa also overturned a prior Supreme Court decision regarding the interpretation of Article 63A of the Constitution, allowing the vote of a defecting lawmaker to be counted.
Reports indicate that CJ Isa himself is not interested in extending his tenure, though he has refrained from making any public statements in the last six months. He has also reportedly requested the government not to include him in the proposed judicial package, as he plans to retire on October 25.
