The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, has no intention of extending his tenure and plans to retire on October 25, according to reliable sources cited by the Express Tribune.
Reports suggest that the government was considering constitutional amendments to prolong CJ Isa’s tenure, including fixing the chief justice’s tenure at three years or increasing the retirement age for Supreme Court judges to 67 and high court judges to 64 through constitutional changes.
Currently, the government lacks the necessary parliamentary majority to amend the Constitution due to the suspension of its 23 MNAs and uncertainties about securing a two-thirds majority in the Senate, pending Senate elections in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Despite the government’s desire to extend CJ Isa’s tenure, it appears unlikely as he has expressed no interest in staying beyond his scheduled retirement.
There is ongoing tension between CJ Isa and the PTI government since a presidential reference was filed against him in May 2019, leading senior lawyers to suggest that if CJ Isa is unwilling, the government may reconsider extending the tenure of other Supreme Court judges.
Efforts are being made for institutional dialogue between the executive and judiciary, with Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan tasked to work on this initiative. However, tensions persist between the two institutions, with a complete lack of trust.
The PTI could benefit from the clash between the executive and judiciary, but if CJ Isa retires on schedule, it would be a setback for the current regime. The government should reconsider its aggressive approach toward the judiciary to focus on more pressing issues.
