In a shocking development, Supreme Court Justice Ijazul Ahsan resigned from his position, a day after Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi did the same, making it “two in two”.
Justice Ahsan was slated to be the next chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) after CJP Qazi Faez Isa. According to the resignation addressed to the president, Justice Ahsan said: “I no longer wish to continue as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”
He said he resigned as per Article 206(1) of the Constitution with immediate effect. The letter did not mention a reason for the resignation.
Like Mazahar Ali Naqvi, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan is also facing reference in SJC. On April 10, 2023, lawyer Sardar Salman Ahmad Dogar had moved a reference before the SJC against Justice Ahsan and others.
Justice Ahsan was part of the five-member bench that delivered the verdict in the high-profile Panamagate case in 2017, which led to the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif, the then-prime minister.
He was also appointed as the monitoring judge to supervise and monitor the implementation of the Panamagate case verdict.
Justice Ahsan assumed the position of chief justice of the Lahore High Court on November 6, 2015. A year later, on June 28, 2016, he was elevated to the position of judge in the Supreme Court.
Commenting on the resignation during a Lahore press conference, PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb raised questions about why Justices Ahsan and Naqvi chose to step down.
The resignations from the top court judges have raised concerns over the judicial system of the country.
