ISLAMABAD: In a rare show of unanimity, the leaders of the house and the opposition in the Senate on Tuesday pleaded against adopting a resolution critical of the former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, but the opposition staged a walk-out instead.

Raja Zafarul Haq, leader of the house, and Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of the opposition, took the position that the subject matter of the resolution – that the former chief has retained a bullet-proof car at government expense as extra privilege after his retirement – was before a court.

PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar, the mover of the resolution, looked wonder struck and stood up to walk out.

Senator Haji Adeel of ANP, who had also signed the resolution along with four other senators belonging to JUI-F, MQM, PkMAP and Fata, suggested to Senate chairman Nayyar Bokhari to defer the resolution rather than disposing it off.

Although the chair accepted his suggestion, Senator Babar stuck to his “personal decision” to walk out.

Barring Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani and Haji Adeel, the entire opposition joined him in the protest against what they considered the government’s lukewarm efforts to implement the Islamabad High Court’s decision on provision of a 6000cc bullet-proof Mercedes and the ex-chief justice’s failure to voluntarily return the vehicle.

Last week, Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt had informed the Senate that that former CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry was provided the car and extra privileges on the orders of the Islamabad High Court where an intra-court petition is pending against those orders.

AG Butt also said that Article 19-A of the Constitution enshrining right to information was not applicable to the Supreme Court.

However, the movers of the resolution found extending to the ex-CJ extra privileges “discriminatory” and against the rules.

Senator Farhatullah Babar argued that the government should have either challenged the court’s orders or amended the rules to carry them out. Indeed, the former CJ himself should have volunteered to give up the additional perks for the sake of dignity and the prestige of the judiciary, he said.

Senator Babar then walked out, followed by others.

The resolution moved by him and signed by Haji Adeel of ANP, Ghulam Ali of JUI-F, Syed Tahir Mashhadi of MQM, Hidayatullah from Fata, Abdul Rauf from PkMAP said:

“This House expresses serious concern that a former CJP is availing fringe benefits over and above those admissible under the rules. It believes that such discrimination in availing extra fringe benefits by only one ex-CJP to the exclusion of other ex-CJPs and ex-judges militates against the prestige of the judiciary. This House therefore calls for a review of the discriminatory decision of allowing additional perks to the former CJP and for taking appropriate steps to withdraw the same from him and recover the amount spent on it from the beneficiary, the former CJP. This House also calls for summoning the former CJP before the appropriate Committee of the House to explain the reasons for availing discriminatory extra post retirement benefits over and above those allowed under the Rules.”

After the resolution was moved, Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq explained that the armour-plated car had been provided to the ex-chief justice on the orders of the Islamabad High Court. He said the matter was sub judice and the Senate should neither discuss nor adopt the resolution.

He assured the House that the government would continue pursuing the intra-court appeal and request for an early hearing.

Leader of the Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan too noted the sub judice nature of the issue and said it would be “inappropriate” to adopt the resolution. But he urged the government to continue efforts to get the judgment of the IHC reviewed.

Indeed, he preferred to respond to allegations that he held animus against the former CJ because he had “decided a case against me and my wife”.

He recalled that he had appeared before the CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry after his restoration in the post only twice, once when a reference by the then president was sent to the court seeking review of the death sentence awarded to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the second time in the contempt proceeding against ex-prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

As for the case against his wife, he said she came in the business of LPG after the sector was deregulated and no judgment against her was passed by the former chief justice.

PPP Senator Saeed Ghani alleged that the former chief justice meddled in every matter and derided the elected government and the parliament. In his opinion no legal hurdle stood in the way of Senate discussing what he called “wrong acts” of the ex-chief justice.

Published in Dawn March 11th , 2015

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