By Sarmad Ali
Islamabad (Pak Destiny) Senators of seven parties brought a resolution in the house demanding immediate withdrawal of additional perks and privileges including a “bulletproof Mercedes car” from ex-CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry and summoned him in the Senate to explain as why he is enjoying this status “unconstitutionally”… big shame for Chaudhry who used to summon others at his court over petty violations and now shamelessly he is involved in the same practice. Who will nail him?
The Resolution was today moved by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar and signed by six senators of as many parties including Haji Adeel of ANP, Ghulam Ali of Jui Syed Tahir mashhadi of MQM, Hidayatullah from FATA, Abdul Raouf from PKMAP said.
It said: “This house expresses serious concern that a former CJP is availing fringe benefits over and above those admissible under the rules. It believes that such discrimination in availing extra fringe benefits by only one ex-CJP to the exclusion of other ex-CJPs and ex- Judges militates against the prestige of the judiciary.
This Hose therefore calls for a review of the discriminatory decision of allowing additional perks to the former CJP and for taking appropriate steps to withdraw the same from him and recover the amount spent on it from the beneficiary, the former CJP.”
“This house also calls for summoning the former CJP before the appropriate Committee of the House to explain the reasons for availing discriminatory extra post retirement benefits over and above those allowed under the Rules.”
Speaking on his resolution Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the government should have either challenged the court order or amended the rules to provide for additional perks to the ex-CJP to comply with the court orders but it failed to do so resulting in discrimination in awarding additional perks to only one CJ among several retired chief justices. He said that after uproar in the Parliament the former CJP should have himself volunteered to give up the additional perks including a bullet proof car and its maintenance cost for the sake of his own dignity and the prestige of the institution of Judiciary. He said that it was unfortunate that on the one hand the former CJP was sticking stubbornly to the extra perks and on the other the government failed to amend the relevant laws to create a non-discriminatory regime.
The Senator then staged a token walk out to drive home what he said the former CJP clinging to extra perks and privileges and the government’s failure to address the issue within the ambit of the law. Several law makers from various parties also joined him in the token walk out.
What could be said but shame, shame and shame of Iftikhar Chaudhry for bringing this office of high respect into disrepute. Pak Destiny