Amendment bill to increase SC judges presented in Senate amidst opposition outcry

ISLAMABAD: An amendment bill to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of Pakistan was presented in the Senate.

The bill was introduced by Senator Abdul Qadir during a session of the Upper House of Parliament chaired by Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani.

The amendment proposes increasing the number of judges to address the backlog of cases, which has, what the government says, led to delays of several years.

The bill highlights that hundreds of tax-related cases, amounting to millions of rupees, remain pending, while the country was struggling to meet its domestic needs by borrowing from international lenders.

When the opposition opposed the bill, Law Minister Azam Tarar argued that rejecting the bill without reviewing the draft was not a constructive approach.

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He mentioned that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has requested 10 additional judges, and despite not being in power in KP, the federal government has agreed to this request.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ali Zafar criticised the bill, stating it was an attempt to undermine the judiciary. He claimed that Senator Abdul Qadir was being used for this purpose and that PTI supports the addition of only two judges, not more.

Senator Saifullah Abaro said that there were underlying motives behind the proposed increase. He called for respecting Supreme Court’s verdicts and giving PTI its seats before enacting such legislation.