In his statement on Thursday, he stated, “I am not joining SC as an ad hoc judge due to personal reasons.”
He is the second judge to have declined the position of ad hoc judge in country’s highest court. Earlier, former Supreme Court judge, retired Justice Mushir Alam, refused to accept the ad hoc judge offer.
As for Justice Baqir, he asserted that “Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) is working with honesty and pure intentions. CJP’s decision to appoint ad hoc judges in the apex court is purely legal and constitutional.”
He disclosed that “Qazi Faez Isa had discussed this matter with him as SC is being overloaded with political cases.”
Baqir stated that thousands of cases were pending with the SC and appointment of ad hoc judges at this juncture was meant to sort out the issue of backlog.
He said Justices Tariq Masood Khosa and Mazhar Alam Miankhel were very competent and honest.
Justices Tariq Masood Khosa, Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Maqbool Baqir and Mushir Alam were named for appointment in the apex court as ad hoc judges but Baqir and Alam declined the offer.