Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar today said that judges don't write judgments to "please" someone or to "settle scores", a day after ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter criticised the judiciary for disqualifying her father in the Panama Papers case.
In its landmark verdict earlier this year, the Supreme Court's five-judge larger bench had unanimously disqualified Sharif as prime minister due to his failure to disclose "unwithdrawn receivables, constituting assets" in his nomination papers filed ahead of the 2013 general elections.
Sharif's daughter, Maryam Nawaz yesterday had said that the judges' oaths should now include words denoting that their decisions are "merit-based and judicious".
Terming her father's disqualification a joke, 43-year-old Maryam, who is apparently being groomed to succeed Sharif, wondered if the judges announced the decision because of some grudge or under pressure.
"I don't know if the (judges arrived at this) decision because of some (personal) grudge or (they were) under some pressure, holding our three generations accountable and internal family affairs were discussed during court proceedings," she said at an election rally.
Apparently responding to her remarks, Chief Justice Nisar said judges don't write judgments to "settle scores".
"We serve the people of Pakistan and we serve the Constitution of Pakistan to the best of our understanding and ability. We do not write judgments to please, we do not write judgments to settle scores, we render judgments in the fine scales of justice," he said.
Chief Justice Nisar made this observation during his address on the occasion of the New Judicial year opening ceremony organised by the Supreme Court in Islamabad, Express Tribune reported.
The CJP went on to explain that the Constitution provided system of governance to be run by three organs of the state including executive, legislature and judiciary.
"The Constitution is supreme and each state organ has to perform its duties and functions in accordance with the Constitutional scheme. The most vital aspect of a true democracy is the rule of law for which the independence of judiciary is a sine qua non," he maintained.
Quoting legal experts, the Express Tribune said Chief Justice Nisar's statement came in response to the recent remarks made by Maryam Nawaz.
Maryam is currently campaigning for her ailing mother, Kulsoom Nawaz, who is contesting for the September 17 polls from the NA-120 seat in Lahore as the candidate of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Kulsoom underwent a second surgery in London last week in connection with her throat cancer.
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