Legal fraternity endorses Nasirul Mulk’s nomination as interim PM

• Former LHC judge says consensus choice of caretaker premier has strengthened democracy

ISLAMABAD: The nomination of former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Nasirul Mulk as the caretaker prime minister has been hailed by all strata of the society alike including the legal specialists, who have termed the decision as a good omen for democracy.

Pakistan Today asked prominent members of the legal fraternity to weigh in on the nomination and what they think it would mean for what many fear to be the most divisive and polarising elections ahead.

Former Lahore High Court (LHC) justice and former attorney general of Pakistan, Irfan Qadir, when asked about the nomination, said that the consensus choice is a fine example of democracy taking roots in Pakistan. “Justice Nasirul Mulk must be very happy as he has landed himself in the top slot and it is a position that people lobby for and beg,” he added.

“Justice Nasir as a person is honest and upright. He has been given charge of a lot of important posts yet he remained humble. He is a decent person, however, the times when he was a justice and later on the chief justice Supreme Court, were worst of times,” Qadir said.

Advocate of the Supreme Court and former LHC justice Naseem Sikandar was of the view that according to the dictates of the constitution, both the leader of the house and opposition leader have made a consensus decision to nominate a former chief justice for the job. “However, as a norm, posting of judges at executive posts is usually avoided,” he said, adding that in this particular case, it won’t apply.

“The thing here is of trust. If a person is a man of repute and enjoys acceptance across the board then he should be given the reigns of caretaker setup,” he said.

“If you ask me as a democrat whether it helps the cause, my answer is that it is a good choice and it is a diversion back to the democratic ways,” said Advocate High Court Chaudhary Badar Iqbal.

Badar was of the view that despite doubts and concerns, the consensus choice will mean that even though the treasury and opposition benches were on warpath, yet they hammered out a name that is largely uncontroversial.

Advocate of the Supreme Court and former additional district and sessions judge Majid Bashir too hailed the choice of chief justice (r) Nasirul Mulk. “Being an impeccable judge, he will surely conduct the business of caretaking with an even hand and without prejudice and favor,” he added.