'All state institutions have collapsed'
ISLAMABAD:
Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has noted that all state institutions, including the executive, parliament, and judiciary, have collapsed.
"Judiciary is one of the pillars of the state. This pillar now exists in a limbo," the IHC's senior judge said on Tuesday.
The PML-N led coalition government in October last year bulldozed the 26th Constitutional Amendment through parliament, an amendment that introduced sweeping change in the judiciary.
The amendment changed the procedure for appointment of the chief justice of Pakistan while also changing the composition of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), giving the executive more power in the selection and elevation of judges to the superior courts.
The amendment also resulted in the formation of constitutional benches in superior courts together with an increase in the number of judges in the top court. Many of these measures were seen by critics as attempts to control and manage the judiciary by pitting judges against each other.
The IHC judge, who was hearing a petition filed by some candidates seeking directions for the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) not to conduct new Central Superior Services (CSS) exams before announcing results of the previous one, however, said he has not lost hope.
"We are not despondent, though. It is the youth that is going to do something for this country," he added,
FPSC Chairman Lt General (retd) Akhtar Nawaz Satti appeared in the court and stated that he had recently taken chargeon October 9, 2024. He requested the court to ask the candidates to refer back to the FPSC.
"We dismissed the petitioner's request [to postpone exams] because they will still have chances [to reappear in the exam] even after the 2025 exams," he said.
The court noted that the matter was referred to the FPSC to be examined from its perspective. The judge stated that there are 3,761 candidates who appeared in the 2024 exams and are now sitting for the 2025 exams as well.
"A total of 88 exam halls have been booked across the country, and all relevant papers have already been dispatched [for the 2025 exams]," FPSC chief said.
Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal stated that postponing these exams would create confidentiality issues. He said the exams are scheduled to commence on February 15 and that FPSC had the legal authority to conduct the next exam even if the previous results were not yet declared.
The court remarked that if results were not released, exams could continue indefinitely in 2026 and 2027. "Had the results been announced even a week earlier, these petitioners would not be before the court today. If FPSC had stated that they were announcing the results today, the petition would have been disposed of," he added.
In response, the FPSC chairman stated that if he could expedite the process, he would, but it was not feasible. The commission had decided in the larger public interest to conduct the exam on time. He assured the court that the results of the 2024 CSS exams would be announced in the last week of April.
After hearing the arguments, the court reserved its judgment and later dismissed the petition.
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