Cabinet asks President Alvi to sign SC Practice and Procedure Act

The federal cabinet on Monday asked President Dr Arif Alvi to immediately sign the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 so that the country could be taken out of the constitutional and political crisis, APP reported.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the special meeting of the federal cabinet held at the Prime Minister's House.

The ministers considered in detail the two-point agenda.

Minister for Law Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar and Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan briefed the cabinet on different matters.

The cabinet examined the issue of issuance of a circular by the Registrar Supreme Court against the order of the Supreme Court.

The cabinet decided to withdraw the services of the Registrar Supreme Court and asked him to report to the Establishment Division.

The development comes hours after Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial has no power to issue administrative directions on a judicial order passed by fellow judges of the apex court.

In a letter addressed to the Supreme Court’s Registrar, Justice Faez Isa said that the circular issued on March 31 by his office was against the top court’s three-member bench led by him.

“Needless to say, as a senior officer you are expected to know what the Constitution of Pakistan stipulates, act in accordance therewith and abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court (article 189 of the Constitution.),” the letter read.

Justice Isa, the seniormost judge of the SC after the Chief Justice, noted that the SC Registrar was unfit to hold the office, and advised him to relinquish the post immediately.