Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s Fall From Grace
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s tenure marks one of the darkest chapters in Pakistan’s judicial history. His decisions, perceived as favoring entrenched political elites, have raised deep concerns about the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary. Critics argue that under his leadership, the Supreme Court has eroded public trust, particularly in cases involving the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its leadership. His ascension to the role of Chief Justice in September 2023 came with promises of transparency and impartiality. Yet, the actions of his court, from rulings perceived as politically biased to handling critical constitutional cases, have raised deep concerns about the erosion of judicial independence and fairness. The selective nature of justice and controversial rulings have left a profound impact on the nation, fostering a growing sense of injustice and disillusionment among citizens striving for true democratic accountability and judicial fairness.
A: Reinstating Impartial Returning Officers In General Election 2024
The Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) designated District Returning Officers, Returning Officers, and Assistant Returning Officers for 859 constituencies of the National and Provincial Assembly. However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) approached the Lahore High Court to challenge the appointment of bureaucrats by the caretaker provincial government in Punjab. This was in lieu of the Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who influenced the bureaucracy against PTI, its leaders, and workers. PTI contended that the caretaker government had made frequent transfers and postings in bureaucracy which were sheer violation of the Elections Act. Consequently, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered a stay on the appointment of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy. However, a three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Sardar Tariq Masood suspended the LHC ruling, paving the way for electoral rigging.
Reference:
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/12/12/ecp-notifies-appointment-of-ros-dros-and-aros-for-elections/
https://www.dawn.com/news/1795741
https://www.paktribune.com/news-details/sc-suspended-lhc-order-asked-ecp-to-notify-election-schedule
B: Ex Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Disqualification Revoked
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa scrapped the lifetime ban on contesting elections for people with criminal convictions, paving the way for Nawaz Sharif to run for prime minister for a fourth time. The same Supreme court had earlier disqualified Nawaz Sharif from office over undeclared assets as part of the "Panama Papers" leaks of international offshore companies. In addition, Nawaz Sharif, was also sentenced to seven years in jail and imposed a heavy fine by an anti-corruption court in December 2018 after he failed to convince the court that he had nothing to do with the steel mill set up by his father in 2001 in Saudi Arabia. Despite Sharif’s conviction, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa revoked the ban, stating it to be a fundamental right of citizens to contest elections.
Reference:
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistan-court-scraps-lifetime-election-bans-convicts-2024-01-08/
https://www.reuters.com/article/world/pakistan-faces-political-turmoil-as-pm-sharif-ousted-in-wealth-probe-idUSKBN1AD0T6/
https://www.deccanherald.com/world/nawaz-sharif-al-azizia-corruption-case-ends-in-an-acquittal-at-ihc-2807676
C: PTI Barred from Using Election Symbol
Pakistan Supreme Court stripped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of their electoral symbol, the cricket ‘Bat.’ The Election commission claimed that the party failed to provide sufficient evidence that it had conducted intra-party elections. This decision came despite PTI having held intra-party elections, but the ECP refusing to accept them and equating their case with that of another party who did not hold intra-party elections since 2007. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa played a critical role in supporting the ECP. This decision was considered a gross violation of the rights of a political party along with the rights of millions of voters who were stripped of exercising their choice in favor of PTI. In contrast, another political party who had not held intra party elections were allowed to contest elections with merely a fine levied upon them.
Reference:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1805562
https://thediplomat.com/2024/01/pakistan-supreme-court-strips-imran-khans-party-of-bat-symbol/
D: Human Rights Violations 9th May Cases
There are numerous people who have been wrongfully incarcerated for conducting peaceful protest on 9th May 2023. Dr Yasmeen Rashid is one of PTI’s prominent leaders, who has been wrongfully jailed for months in multiple cases related to the May 9 riots. She wrote a letter to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa from jail, where she demanded him to constitute a judicial commission regarding May 9, as she has been waiting for justice for over a year. She along with other women belonging to PTI are still wrongfully imprisoned.
Another similar case is that of Barrister Hassan Niazi, a lawyer and political activist, arrested on August 13, 2023, in connection with protests on May 9, after which he was transferred into military custody. An open letter was written to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, arguing that Barrister Niazi was entitled to his fundamental rights, including defense and a lawyer, but this is being denied. Almost a hundred other civilians are in military custody under similar circumstances.
In April 2024, Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also wrote a detailed letter to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, highlighting numerous human rights abuses and judicial failures during his tenure. He expressed concern regarding violent treatment of PTI supporters by law enforcement. He urged the judiciary to take measures to uphold the constitutional rights of the detainees.
Alia Hamza, a prominent leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), also wrote a letter from jail describing her struggles during her imprisonment, which had lasted over seven months at the time.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa till date has failed to take any action on these matters.
Reference:
https://www.geo.tv/latest/545404-yasmin-rashids-condition-critical-shifted-to-hospital-from-kot-lakhpat-jail
https://theneutral.pk/letter-to-chief-justice-isa-on-hassan-niazis-disappearance/
https://thefridaytimes.com/27-Sep-2023/cjp-qazi-faez-isa-urged-to-take-notice-of-alleged-enforced-disappearance-torture-of-hassan-niazi
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2463292/in-letter-to-cj-ex-pm-seeks-judicial-intervention-to-safeguard-rule-of-law
https://insaf.pk/news/daily-news-headlines-5th-december-2023
E: Election Rigging Allegations on Faez Isa
Former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha accused Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, along with Chief Election Commission Sikander Sultan Raja and other officials of rigging the February 2024 elections. He alleged that election results were altered to favor non-PTI candidates. Chatha made these claims during a press conference, claiming that losing candidates were turned into winners by margins of up to 70,000 votes. After his press conference, Chatha was moved to an unknown place and remained missing for several days. While Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa strongly denied these allegations, stating there was no evidence to support them, PTI’s white paper on election rigging clearly documents rigging with facts. Instead of initiating a judicial inquiry on this critical matter of public interest, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa has turned a blind eye over all such petitions.
Reference:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1815126
F: Decisions Against Form 45
After the general elections on 8th Feb 2024, PTI claimed their party won 180 National Assembly seats under “original” Form-45. However, the Form-45 uploaded by the ECP on its website was massively tampered with. In addition, Form-47, which is merely an aggregation of all Form-45, were completely falsified in a manner that they did not even align with Form-45 at all. All proof of these riggings has been documented in the White Paper published by PTI.
Similarly there were numerous petitions filed regarding 100% voter turnout, which is impossible, since it meant that people who were overseas or have passed away have also voted. One such petition was filed by members of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) in March 2024, where the complainants argued that the Form-45 uploaded by ECP were fake. In response Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa refused to entertain the petition and endorsed the Election Commission to have uploaded correct forms. In addition, he deferred the complainants to the election tribunals for all such matters.
In September 2024, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa ruled that Form-45 holds no significant value once the ballot boxes are opened for recounting. It is to be kept in mind that this decision completely contradicts his initial decision (as mentioned in section A) where he affirmed his faith in the credibility of the Returning Officers who were responsible for counting votes and signing off Form-45 in presence of all contestants of the constituency. According to him, the ballot papers themselves are the most important evidence in determining election results. The Election Commission of Pakistan has since conducted recounts in three constituencies: NA-154 (Lodhran), NA-81 (Gujranwala), and NA-79 (Gujranwala). These were originally won by independent candidates affiliated with PTI, but following recounts, the ECP declared PML-N candidates as the new winners.
Reference:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1165436-form-45-on-ecp-website-evidence-of-rigging-pti
https://insaf.pk/news/pti-whitepaper-rigging-elections-2024
https://www.dawn.com/news/1819758
https://arynews.tv/ecp-rejects-vote-recount-request-in-na-266/
https://www.app.com.pk/national/ecp-refuses-jui-f-candidates-pea-for-recounting-vote-in-na-266/
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2487433/sc-overturns-lhcs-decision-to-reinstate-vote-recount-in-three-na-constituencies
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1231870-once-boxes-are-opened-slug-form-45-or-75-doesn-t-have-any-status-justice-isa
G: Letter By Six Judges of Islamabad High Court
Six judges from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) sent a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, expressing serious concerns about alleged interference from intelligence agencies in judicial affairs. The signatory judges included Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz. In their letter, they detailed instances of intimidation, threats and surveillance by operatives of intelligence agencies. They raised alarm over one judge discovering hidden cameras in their residence, which had been used to monitor their activities and invade their privacy.
While an inquiry commission, headed by former Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, was initially formed, he withdrew on April 1st. This was followed by a suo moto that resulted in a seven-member bench including Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa which was rejected by PTI as they requested a “full court” rather than “like-minded” judges deciding this matter. The very next day these judges received threatening letters containing a "chemical powder" from an unknown sender. In the following months, Peshawar High Court also acknowledged interference by intelligence agencies, but no significant action has been taken till date to address these concerns.
Reference:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1824028
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40295615
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_IHC_judges%27_letter
H: Reserved Seats Decision
The case of reserved seats in Pakistan refers to the allocation of parliamentary seats specifically designated for women and minorities in the National and Provincial Assemblies. In a verdict in March, the Election Commission of Pakistan had ruled that the Sunni Ittehad Council was not entitled to claim quota for reserved seats. They also decided to distribute the seats among other parties, with PML-N and the PPP becoming major beneficiaries.
In October 2024, a thirteen-member bench overruled this verdict in favor of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), concluding that the council is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats. While the bench was led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, he did not support the majority verdict which was given by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Irfan Saadat, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. The Election Commission of Pakistan and Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa argued that since these members under the Sunni Ittehad Council registered as “Independent candidates”, they should not receive reserve seats. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa failed to acknowledge that the main reason why PTI candidates participated as “Independent candidates” was due to his decision on PTI’s “Bat” symbol (as mentioned in section C), which was used by Election Commission of Pakistan to strip away PTI’s right to compete in elections as a party.
Reference:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1845359
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2476150/ecp-misread-pti-poll-ruling-sc
I: NAB Amendments
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendments Case refers to amendments made in 2022 by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government. The most prominent clause introduced was the threshold for NAB to initiate cases, limiting its jurisdiction to offenses involving more than PKR 500 million (approximately $1.76 million). Another clause stated new procedural requirements, regarding how NAB could conduct investigations and prosecutions, which were much stricter than before. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan challenged these amendments, arguing that they were aimed at benefiting politicians, protecting their alleged corruption.
In Sept 2023, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared that the amendments were illegal and all relevant cases under NAB must be restored. The decision was decided by a majority of the three-member bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, composed of Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
In June 2024, a five-member bench from the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, overturned the prior decision and restored the amendments. This was considered another effort by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to protect corrupt politicians that were part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.
Reference:
https://thefridaytimes.com/15-Sep-2023/supreme-court-declares-amendments-to-nab-laws-illegal-orders-to-restore-corruption-cases-against-public-office-holders
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/6/pakistans-top-court-restores-anticorruption-law-amendments
J: Reinstating Retired Judges
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa nominated four retired judges to appoint them as ad hoc judges of the apex court. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) later approved the appointment of two of these judges, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood. PTI has strongly opposed reinstatement of these judges as it is considered an attempt to influence judicial outcomes by installing "like-minded judges".
This misconduct can be seen by the recent act of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, where he formed a bench composed of himself, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel. The case was designated to be fixed on September 30, 2024. This particular bench was to review a petition against the interpretation of Article 63A of the Constitution. Article 63-A of the Constitution of Pakistan deals with the disqualification of lawmakers on the grounds of defection, in particular “Voting Against Party Directions” or more commonly referred to as floor crossing.
Justice Munib Akhtar, who was part of the original decision on this matter, wrote a letter to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, stating clearly that he will not attend this review hearing due to several reasons. He made it clear that he was not recusing himself. One of the foremost objections he had was regarding the inclusion of Justice Mazhar Alam in the bench and stated that his presence in the bench was contrary to Article 182 as he was appointed as an ad hoc judge with restrictions.
Instead of addressing Justice Munib Akhtar's concerns, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa replaced him with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan. This act is again in conflict with his previous verdict where he clearly stated that review petitions must be heard by a bench composed of the author judge (unless he is retired). Additionally, once a bench has been constituted, the Committee has no right to arbitrarily reconstitute it.
Reference:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1846769
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2480887/pti-to-move-sjc-against-ad-hoc-judges-in-sc
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2499435/like-minded-sc-benches-to-hear-crucial-cases
https://www.dawn.com/news/1862153/explainer-what-is-article-63a-and-why-does-it-matter
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40324857/review-pleas-justice-munib-recuses-himself-from-the-bench
https://x.com/AsadKharal/status/1840697520663544106/photo/1
https://x.com/aqibahmadK/status/1841073201503224242/photo/1
https://x.com/RidaHosain/status/1840786122462405095
K: Supporting Ordinance
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa has maintained a strong stance against ordinances, especially in the context of judicial independence and transparency. He once remarked that "[Presidential] ordinance is an insult to the parliament when it has already made a law [on an issue]". In various other rulings, he has indicated that governance through ordinances risks bypassing accountability and has expressed the need for a more balanced approach.
The "Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024" in Pakistan has been recently approved that restores significant powers to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). It also allows for greater discretion in the appointment of judges and the formation of Supreme Court benches. Under this ordinance, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa regained full authority to appoint judges, including the ability to replace committee members responsible for bench constitution and case assignment. Since this ordinance granted more powers to the Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, he did not take any action against it let alone disapproving of it.
Reference:
https://thefridaytimes.com/20-Jun-2024/presidential-ordinance-is-an-insult-to-parliament-cjp-isa
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2472554/presidential-ordinances-insult-parliament-cjp-isa
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1232368-president-issues-sc-practice-procedure-amendment-ordinance-cjp-empowered-to-pick-third-member-of-key-sc-panel
Conclusion
In 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution addressing concerns over the February general elections in Pakistan. The resolution called for an independent investigation into claims of election rigging and highlighted human rights violations. The resolution passed with overwhelming support, with 98% of House members voting in favor. Amnesty International released a report highlighting various human rights violations across the country, focusing on issues like freedom of expression, enforced disappearances, violence against women and minorities, and arbitrary detention.
Despite this, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa has not taken any action during his tenure as Chief Justice to address any of these issues in Pakistan. In fact, his actions and selection of cases is criticized to be politically and personally motivated. There are also claims of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to be focusing on revoking Article 63-A and recounting cases to grant PDM majority in the National Assembly, to pave way for his unconstitutional extension. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa has denied such claims, but his actions speak otherwise.
Reference:
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/528267_PAKISTAN-2023-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf
https://www.businesstoday.in/world/us/story/us-passes-resolution-seeking-investigation-into-2024-general-elections-in-pakistan-islamabad-retorts-434829-2024-06-27
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/pakistan/report-pakistan/