In an effort to lessen animosity and differences between the superior judiciary, Chief Justice (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial on Monday hosted a dinner for his fellow senior Supreme Court (SC) judges.
All of the judges of the apex court attended the event except for the next CJ of Pakistan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
Justice Isa, a lawyer said, might have decided not to attend the dinner as the CJP has already reserved his decision on a government’s plea regarding withdrawal of its curative review petition against an apex court order dismissing a presidential reference against the said judge.
Earlier, a retired chief justice also reportedly tried to resolve the issues between Bandial and Isa but all in vain.
The SC is divided into two groups with eight judges on one side and seven on the other. Two positions in the Supreme Court have been lying vacant.
It is pertinent to mention that questions related to the supreme power given to CJP Bandial were raised when he took up election suo moto case despite opposition by many senior judges including Justice Qazi Faez. Since then the rift in the court has been widely speculated upon.
