Four judges of the Supreme Court have declined to attend a full court meeting and have written a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, arguing that attending the meeting would serve no purpose until the fundamental objections to the rules are resolved.
In a joint letter addressed to the Chief Justice, Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar, Ayesha Malik, and Athar Minallah have requested that their letter be included in the official minutes of the full court meeting.
The letter states that while they received the invitation to the full court meeting, they are unable to participate. It adds that the new rules were never formally presented before the full court for approval, and the minutes of the meeting should be made public. According to the judges, the rules suffer from legal irregularities.
The letter further mentions that the meeting was convened with a single-point agenda, focused on addressing issues arising from the new rules. The judges argue that attending the meeting would serve no purpose until the fundamental objections to the rules are resolved.
Referring to the committee formed by the Chief Justice, the judges stated that the rules were approved through circulation—a method generally reserved for routine administrative matters.
The letter also notes that the rules were already notified on August 9, making the timing of the full court meeting now “puzzling.”
