THE World Justice Project report this year placed the judiciary in Pakistan at the 129th place on a list of 142 countries. Over the years, there have been many individuals within the institution who chose to appease powerful dictators and members of the establishment.

They are the ones responsible for such a low perception of the institution. They passed judgments authorising dictators to amend the Constitution, and then followed it up to assume this power for themselves by rewriting the Constitution behind the façade of interpretation.

In such an environment, there were some who became victims of slander and vicious campaigns not just by the dictators, but also from within the institution.

The outgoing chief justice, Qazi Faez Isa, was one of the individuals who upheld the oath of their office, and strictly follo-wed the Constitution in letter and in spirit.

He will always be remembered for his courage and commitment in the face of heavy odds and pressures. His father, the late Qazi Mohammad Isa, was a staunch supporter of the Quaid-i-Azam, and was president of the Muslim League in Balochistan, besides being the youngest member of the All-India Muslim League (AIML) central executive committee. He would definitely be proud of his son.

Malik Tariq Ali
Lahore

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2024