ISLAMABAD: Apparently reacting to debate in the media on the dissenting notes of two judges in the Panama Papers case judgement, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday emphasised that everybody was supposed to respect the courts and their decisions.

The CJP deplored the way the verdict was being discussed in the absence of proper legal context and an understanding of the law.

The observations came during the hearing of a suo motu case in the Supreme Court by a three-judge bench on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s complaint about problems being faced by the residents of his Banigala neighbourhood.

Mr Khan was present in court for the hearing.

The CJP said that judges around the world wrote notes of dissent on judgements, but the way they were being discussed in Pakistan was unprecedented.

Since the verdict was handed down on Thursday, supporters of both the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PTI and its allies have been celebrating “victory” and “vindication”, respectively.

Asks Imran to help stabilise country

Those who want Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign point to the dissenting notes of Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Gulzar Ahmed, which held that the prime minister had ceased to be sadiq or ameen, saying that he had no moral justification to continue in office following this appraisal.

There is also a segment of society that deplores the Supreme Court for supposedly shying away from ruling against the prime minister outright.

It was ostensibly this “mistrust” that the chief justice was referring to when he observed that citizens looked towards the judiciary because they trusted the institution and there was a need to remove the prevailing “air of distrust” and move forward.

The CJP said it was his belief that only those nations could develop and prosper, whose leaders were clean, institutions strong and citizens were hardworking.

Pointing towards Mr Khan, the CJP observed that the nation needed leaders like him, who could take the country forward. However, he also highlighted that it was necessary to end the atmosphere of “disappointment and distrust”.

Anyone can make a mistake, the chief justice said, but one should understand that it was not done on purpose.

On a lighter note, the chief justice recalled his days on the playing field in Cathedral College in Lahore, where Mr Khan would visit to represent Aitchison College. He recounted how the former Test cricketer once hit a baseball so hard it fell outside the church’s premises.

The PTI chief appreciated the way the five-judge bench had heard the Panama Papers case and ensured the court that he stood behind the institutions. The only institution where people come to seek justice is the Supreme Court, Mr Khan said.

During the hearing, the CJP called on the PTI chairman to help foster stability in the country following the landmark ruling in the Panama Papers case.

“Being a leader of the people, you are not an ordinary individual; people listen to you. One call from you can create stability or disorder in the country,” the chief justice observed, pointing towards the PTI chief.

Later, talking to mediapersons outside the court, Mr Khan seconded what the chief justice had said about national institutions.

“I have been raising my voice for a long time, highlighting how the institutions of the country are being destroyed due to rampant corruption,” he said. He appreciated the chief justice for taking up a public interest issue and affording him a patient hearing.

In reply to a question, he said that an upcoming grand alliance of opposition leaders could culminate in a “Go Nawaz, go” campaign, adding the head of a country would never dare indulge in corruption if the institutions were strengthened.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017