* IHC to now consist of chief justice and 6 judges from all provinces and other territories of Pakistan
By Tahir Niaz
ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Thursday passed the Islamabad High Court Bill, 2010 with two amendments. The National Assembly has already passed the bill but in view of the two amendments incorporated in it by the Upper House, it will now again go back to the Lower House for approval.
The government did not oppose the amendments. After the amendments in the bill, the IHC shall consist of a chief justice and six judges who would be appointed “from the provinces and other territories of Pakistan, in accordance with the constitution”. Earlier, the National Assembly had approved the appointment of one IHC judge from each of the four provinces, one from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and one from FATA. It had also approved that the chief justice of the IHC shall be appointed in rotation from the ICT, the provinces and FATA. Now the judicial commission is authorised to take decisions regarding the appointment of judges and later the senior most judge of the IHC would head it.
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Babar Awan congratulated the House over its adoption of the bill, saying that it is a pro-people legislation. In reply to the points raised by Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed, the law minister said that the National Assembly has fulfilled its responsibility by passing the IHC Bill. He said that after the passage of the 18th Amendment, any one particular province would not be allowed to have a majority representation in the IHC.
Later, taking part in the debate on the president’s address to the joint sitting of parliament, Senator Talha Mahmood said, “Pakistan will not go down alone, rather it will also take along those who are trying to destroy the country”. In reference to the ongoing water row between Islamabad and New Delhi, he said the next war would be fought on the water distribution issue. He asked the government to strengthen parliamentary committees to ensure the supremacy of parliament.
Talha termed the Pakistani leadership ‘coward’, adding that the people of the country are brave enough to thwart all nefarious designs of the enemy. “We don’t need a smiling foreign minister but one who can plead Pakistan’s case abroad in an effective manner,” he said. He also criticised the government’s policies, saying each passing day is proving to be worst than the last one.
Violation: Speaking on a point of order, Senator Jamal Leghari said that Prime Minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gilani has violated democratic norms by addressing another elections rally in Burewala. He asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of the issue.
Senator Najma Hameed also criticised the PM for addressing an election rally in Burewala.
Senators Dr Saeeda Iqbal, Sheerala Malik, Afrasiab Khattak, Nilofer Bakhtiar, Gulshan Saeed, Najma and others congratulated Pakistani-born Saeeda Warsi for her success in the UK elections and termed it ‘good news’ for the Pakistani nation.
Source: Daily Times
Date:5/14/2010
