Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan 'quits' as SC judge

ISLAMABAD: Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, the next-in-line judge to become the chief justice of Pakistan, has reportedly resigned from his office.

Ahsan has sent his resignation to President Arif Alvi, raising questions over his untimely departure. Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan remained the monitoring judge in the Panama case, in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified.

Ahsan would have become the chief justice — the highest judicial office in the country that comes with supreme power — after CJP Isa's term concluded in October this year as Justice Tariq Masood, the senior puisne judge, would hang his robes before that.

The major event comes within a day of Justice (retd) Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi’s resignation, which has also been accepted by the president.

Justice Naqvi, who hailed from Gujranwala, was elevated to the Supreme Court on March 16, 2020.

"In the circumstances which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record, It is no longer possible for me to continue to serve as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Considerations of the due process also compel so. I, therefore, effective today resign as a Judge of the Supreme Court of pakistan,” he wrote in his resignation letter to the president.

The resignation came a day after a three-judge bench of the apex court turned down a request to stay the Jan 11 SJC proceedings against him.

After resignation, judges are entitled to enjoy all perks and privileges, including pension, a senior lawyer said, as quoted by an English daily. He said the reference also becomes infructuous after the resignation and the SJC should also ideally wind up the proceedings.