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Judges appointment against vacant posts soon: Munshi

ISLAMABAD: Law Minister and the Attorney General for Pakistan Aziz A. Munshi has said that the government is considering the filling of the vacant posts of judges, in the Supreme Court and the High Courts, as soon as possible.

"The matter is under consideration, and the government is trying to finalise it within two to three days," he told APP here on Friday.

He said, "these appointments will be made strictly in accordance with proper legal procedure and judicial norms."

Munshi dispelled the impression that the judges' oath under the PCO impairs the independence of judiciary.

Contesting the criticism viz-a-viz the oath of office of judges, he said "by doing so, the national compulsions must be kept in view."

He said the Provisional Constitutional Order relating to the oath of judges' office was promulgated in continuation of the Proclamation of Emergency and PCO, of October 14, 1999.

The order, he said, was intended as clarity measure to meet the objectives of emergency.

In the proclamation order, he said, it was clearly specified that whole of Pakistan is under the control of armed forces. Powers of the superior courts, namely the Supreme Court and the High Courts were, however, were not affected subject to proclamation of emergency and the PCO.

He said the background of proclamation of emergency and the PCO was the most explosive event which occurred on October 12, 1999 at Karachi and Islamabad.

The people who criticised the PCO should remember that the situation created on that day could have resulted in grave consequences for the existence of Pakistan as a state.

That was a situation, he said, where there was no alternative for armed forces, but to take over control and discharge their duty to safeguard the integrity and existence of Pakistan.

He said a complete vacuum had been created by the misdeeds of the former government, and Pakistan could not exist in vaccum.

In a trichotomy of powers, the minister said the function of the legislation and civilian executive branch of the government had become both redundant and non-existent in the previous government.

One cannot understand, in what other manner, Pakistan could have been saved except by proclamation of emergency and the PCO.

Surely, it is physically not possible for any other organ of the State, even the judiciary to safeguard, protect, preserve and defend the territorial integrity and the structural institutions of the government in such cricumstances of vaccum.

The persons responsible for creating such vaccum was former government and former assemblies', members who failed to exercise any restraint or control on actions and misdeeds of those in power, before October 12, 1999, he maintained.