LAHORE:
Shahid Jameel Khan, a recently departed judge from the Lahore High Court (LHC), declared on Thursday that his retirement was a “rebellion against this system, that some people have now made hostage for their vested interests”.
Justice Shahid declared, “Some people have captured the system and wish to run it as per their whims,” during his first public appearance at a lawyer’s convention following his departure earlier this month.
Even now, he claimed, “some judges are working under fear,” despite the severe instability that Pakistan is currently experiencing. The former judge stated, “the fear of losing their jobs and making their chief unhappy.”
“Dismantle the bonds; release the anxiety,” Justice (retd) Khan said. “We will not be able to stand as one nation if we will not shrug off our fear,” he stated.
Denying reports that he resigned due to coercion, the judge made it clear that he made the decision to step down on his own, carefully weighing what would be best for himself.
“My resignation serves as a model for individuals who must make decisions under duress,” he declared. The former LHC judge went on, “Don’t compromise your self-respect; a judge should make decisions after setting aside all kinds of pressures, interests, and fear.”
Answering a question about “the establishment” coming up to him. The former magistrate declared that he had received approaches from them “just twice.” “A lawyer approached me to convey a ‘zoo official’s’ message regarding wanting to meet me,” shortly after he was confirmed as a judge. The judge remarked, “I was told the official was really ‘impressed’ by me,” and he declined the invitation to a meeting.
“A car chased me during the time I was hearing some matters related to cantonment elections in Rawalpindi,” he claimed to have experienced the second incident.
According to Justice Shahid, he was told that the car chase was a warning to him. “Everyone knows who they were, even though they refused to take responsibility,” the court declared.
The resignation of Justice Shahid
Justice Shahid submitted his resignation on February 2nd, stating that he had chosen to “turn the page and start a new chapter” due to “personal circumstances.”
“It was an absolute honor to hold the office, but for personal circumstances I have decided to turn the page and start a new chapter,” he wrote in his resignation letter to President Dr. Arif Alvi.
In the month that followed, his resignation was the third such exit under Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa’s leadership.
Justice Shahid, who has served on the LHC bench since 2014, made the decision to retire, following the recent departures of SC judges Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
