Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah has expressed a desire for courts to remain open whenever martial law is threatened in Pakistan.
The nation has experienced a total of three martial laws – 1958–1971, 1977–1988, 1999–2008 – in the decades since its independence in 1947.
Speaking at a New York City Bar Association event, Judge Minallah said, “I wish the courts would stay open every time martial law is threatened.”
The judge’s reply came in response to an event participant asking him why he opened the Islamabad High Court (IHC) at midnight on April 9, 2022 – the day former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted from power. .
The judge, who served as the Chief Justice of the IHC from 2018-2022, told the participant that when he was appointed to the high office, he issued a circular that the high court would function 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
He said he had set a procedure that no matter what time anyone could file a petition which would then be sent to the then IHC CJ on WhatsApp – be it 3am or 4am.
“1,400 people benefited from that circular. No one knows about them because they were not political people, they were ordinary people. Only the Islamabad High Court did that. The Supreme Court was open to everyone,” Justice Minallah said.
Clarification that the media reports were wrong when they brought the news that he had reached the High Court. “I was in my pyjamas […] when I was informed that Supreme Court Bar President Ahsan Bhoon wanted to file a petition. But all the petitions were frivolous and I did not pass any order.”
Justice Minallah added that while he was at home, private television broadcast that he had reached the Supreme Court and lamented the development.
“My wife told me […] and I said, ‘really’?” He added that if he passed any order, people might question his integrity, but he did not resort to any such step. “Despite this, a political narrative has been created.”
“The [private TV] channel has created a situation as if martial law should be imposed,” a senior lawyer said of the news broadcast during the no-confidence motion against then-Prime Minister Khan in April 2022.
“I wish the courts would remain open every time there is a threat of martial law. I wish they were open on July 5 when General Ziaul Haq dismissed the elected prime minister. I wish they were open on October 12 when General Parvez Musharraf threw the elected prime minister.”
“Until then, if anyone tries to unconstitutionally depose the elected Prime Minister Imran Khan, then it would be the test of the Islamabad High Court whether it is worth following the constitution or not.”
