Supreme Court Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi could be sacked by the apex court till the end of November following the issuance of a show-cause notice to him for his alleged involvement in corrupt practices.
While speaking in a program on Naya Daur TV, senior analyst Muzamal Suharwardy said that when Justice Mazahar was the judge of the Lahore High Court, he rejected the bail plea and later granted bail to the same accused, after which a reference was filed against him in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for taking bribes.
Then-chief justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa was about to initiate action against him, but since Justice Mazahar was close to Lt Gen. (retired) Faiz Hameed, that’s why the former chief justice recused himself from hearing the case on the instructions of Faiz.
The analyst said that former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa declared two prime ministers disqualified during his tenure, but he recused himself from hearing a case against Justice Mazahar.
Suharwardy said that Justice Mazahar should resign to protect his reputation and credibility, but he will opt to challenge the show-cause notice in the Supreme Court to delay the process of accountability.
He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan could also be sentenced in the cipher case by the end of November.
While responding to a question regarding the meeting between PTI leaders and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazl Ur Rehman, Suharwardy said it was a political victory for Fazl, and that he would use the incident as a political campaign.
He said that the PTI is still popular in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that the move by the PTI leaders Asad Qaiser, Barrister Saif, and Ali Muhammad Khan was aimed at breaking the strength of the party to protect their political careers.