The representatives of former first lady Bushra Bibi on Thursday told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that they do not have confidence in the court's chief justice to provide them with a fair trial and justice and requested that their cases should be affixed before some other bench.
Bushra, who is the wife of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, had filed an application in the high court via her legal representative, Intizar Panjotha, that she wished to meet with her husband alone in jail. She further argued that the request should be heard by a bench which does not include IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.
Panjotha argued that decisions issued by the bench consisting of CJ Farooq regarding Imran Khan were all in a similar vein.
All our cases affixed before this bench should be fixed before another bench, Panjotha requested.
CJ Farooq, however, remarked that the request was inappropriate and urged Panjotha to reconsider.
It is not as you say; we can still review this, CJ Farooq said, adding that if they had any objections to any decisions, these decisions could be challenged.
He added that no concrete reason had been provided for objecting to the composition of the bench.
On Bushra Bibi's application, the high court issued notices to the Supreme Court Bar Association, the Islamabad High Court Bar, the Pakistan Bar Council, and the Islamabad Bar Council.
Later, the court deferred further hearings indefinitely.
It is pertinent to mention here that Bushra Bibi filed an application seeking a meeting with her husband in jail alone the other day. She had argued that she could not discuss personal or family matters before jail officials in the standard meeting she is allowed to have once a week.