The Supreme Court of Pakistan has begun hearing review appeals challenging the interpretation of Article 63-A.
A five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is hearing the appeals. The bench also includes Justices Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Mazhar Alam Miankhel.
At the start of the hearing, the President of the Supreme Court Bar, Shahzad Shaukat, appeared before the bench. The Chief Justice noted that his arguments had already been completed.
The Registrar’s report regarding the detailed judgment on Article 63-A was presented to the court, indicating that the detailed judgment was issued on October 14, 2022.
The President of the Supreme Court Bar explained that the delay in filing the review petitions was due to the wait for the detailed judgment. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail responded by questioning whether the Supreme Court Bar was unaware of the timeframe for filing such petitions, contrasting it with the situation of an ordinary citizen’s case.
It is noteworthy that a new bench was constituted yesterday after Justice Munib Akhtar declined to participate. The Judges Committee replaced Justice Munib Akhtar with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
On Tuesday, Shahzad Shaukat presented arguments on behalf of the Supreme Court Bar. The federal government and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) supported the review petitions, while PTI’s lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, objected to the composition of the bench.
