December 29, 2001	Saturday	Shawwal 13, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has voiced concern over the elevation of a junior judge to the Supreme Court.

In a statement PPP spokesman said appointment of a junior judge, among four, to the apex court was clearly in violation to the established law of seniority.

General Musharraf elevated four judges of high courts— Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday and Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi and Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, presently serving as federal law secretary — to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

“Arbitrary appointment negating the lawful procedure leads to a politicised judiciary and gravely undermines an independent judiciary”, the spokesman said.

He claimed that Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid (Rtd) had revealed that Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar had visited him when the trial against Nawaz Sharif toppling was in process. Khokhar had told Mr Zahid that General Musharraf would dismiss Supreme Court judges unless they cooperated during the constitutional petition challenging the overthrow of Nawaz Sharif regime, the spokesman added.

He said Court of Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, one of the newly-elevated judges, had also witnessed unprecedented controversial scenes in political cases relating to the PPP.

Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, another judge who was removed by the PPP government from the bench, had been accused bias during the trial proceedings against PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto. The PPP had filed a complaint of judicial abuse against him before the United Nations rapporteur was appointed on judges.