Islamabad:
A Judicial Officer, Waseemur Rehman Khan Khakwani, who has been appointed Deputation as the Supreme Court’s extra justice secretary (judicial), has been exempt from his duties after only five months.
The position as additional registrar (judicial) is considered one of the most crucial in SC, as the officer in this role is responsible for fixing cases before benches.
Sources in SC told The Express Pakinomist that Khakwani, a Judicial Officer from the Punjab Service, became “a victim of office policy”. As a result, he requested CJP Yahya Afridi to free him before completing his deputation period.
According to Insiders lobbying a powerful section within the SC administration for the continuation of the former additional registrar (Judicial) Nazar Abbas, who is currently serving as Director General (Legal) on a contractual basis.
ABBAS was originally appointed six months, an expression that ended this month, but he has since gotten an extension of a month.
Nazar Abbas has previously drawn legal control. A bench led by justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah issued him a message not to resolve a case in violation of a court decision.
Although the contempt message was later withdrawn, Abbas filed an intra-court appeal for a larger five-judge bench led by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
Eventually he withdrew his appeal, but the larger bench has not yet issued the reasons in the case.
It is expected that the detailed judgment will clarify that a regular bench after the 26th constitutional amendment cannot hear cases involving the interpretation of the law and the Constitution.
The sudden departure of Khakwani has raised questions within legal circles about why he was trying to go down too soon, especially when SC had issued a detailed statement at the time of his appointment that highlighted his credentials.
“With over 16 years of service, Mr. Khakwani brings extensive expertise in judging criminals, civilians and family cases, after serving as District & Sessions Judge and additional District & Sessions judge across several jurisdictions.”
“His term of office includes the President of Litigation, Appeals and Monitoring of Subordinate Courts along with running legal reforms and maintenance standards for justice and operational efficiency.”
Most recently, he worked as a senior additional registrar at Lahore High Court, Bahawalpur Bench, where he further found his administrative and management functions. In his new role in the Supreme Court, Khakwani will lead to judicial operations, streamline case management processes, and support initiatives to improve the effectiveness and transparency of justice’s delivery challenges, positioning him to contribute meaningfully to policy development and optimization of legal services for litigation and the public, “the statement noted.
Currently, Deputationists are occupying several key positions in the Supreme Court. The SC registrar is a retired official himself. This situation has given rise to frustration among the regular SC staff who resent Deputationists located in top roles.
Three senior regular officers of the court – Mujahid, Zulfiqar and Safdar – have also been transferred to different registers.
