ISLAMABAD, April 28: Federal Law Secretary Justice (retd) Mansoor Ahmed Khan on Thursday informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that vacancies in Sindh and Punjab High Courts had not been filled because of a ‘tussle’ at the top level of judiciary.

Answering questions by members of the PAC at the Parliament House, he said that differences of opinion in the upper echelons of judiciary were the main reason why many posts in the two courts were lying vacant.

Referring to vacancies in the Sindh High Court, he said that a list sent by the SHC’s chief justice had been returned by the chief justice of Pakistan.

“The secret files move with the names being included and excluded,” said the law secretary and added that the current system of appointment of high court judges had to be reformed. He said that the system of subjective valuation based on personal likes and dislikes would have to be done away with.

The PAC turned down a request of the secretary seeking a directive for the press not to report his remarks.

“PAC is open and the press would report what you have said,” said PAC chairman Malik Allahyar, MNA.

Supporting the chairman, PAC members said that the press and the public should know what the law secretary had told before the accountability committee of the parliament.

Some of the members cited examples of corruption and bribery which they said were rampant in the judiciary.

Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Tanvir Hussain said that at the district level, 80 per cent of station house officers worked as agents of the district judiciary. He said that billions had been spent on judicial and police reforms but to no avail, as it had failed to provide the common man with access to justice.

Qurban Ali Shah said a former judge of the Supreme Court was on record having admitted that he had given a wrong decision to award death sentence to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.