Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar on Thursday declined an offer to serve as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court, becoming the second judge to refuse the appointment following criticism.

Days before his announcement, retired Supreme Court judge Mushir Alam had turned down the offer to work as an ad hoc judge for a three-year term.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is scheduled to meet on Friday to consider the appointment of four retired apex court judges.

While the government strongly believes the need exists for additional judges to clear pending cases, the main opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has termed the move as “dishonesty”.

Talking to a private TV, Justice (retired) Baqar said that he was deciding against becoming an ad hoc judge due to “personal reasons”.

However, he mentioned that the appointment of ad hoc judges to the apex court is in line with the law and that criticism is “baseless”.

Backing CJP Isa’s decision, Baqar, who also served as the caretaker chief minister of Sindh, said that it was “crucial” to appoint ad hoc judges in light of the backlog of cases.

The development comes after PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub, in conversation with journalists in Islamabad, said hiring three or four judges won’t address the issue of thousands of pending cases.

“The motive behind the move is to appoint ‘like-minded’ judges to the Supreme Court. Political workers and the lawyers’ fraternity reject the move,” Ayub, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, said.

Ayub also requested that the ad hoc judges, when appointed, should not be allowed to hear the cases relating to PTI.

For his part, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar termed the move “dishonesty” and said that all of a sudden, the JCP plans to appoint four ad hoc judges during vacations.

“Appointing these judges for three years is malicious. Ad hoc judges will be harmful to an independent judiciary, we are taking this matter up in the Supreme Judicial Council. Judges should not make this issue controversial.”

Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Azam Nazeer Tarar has said that ad hoc judges should be appointed to the Supreme Court.

“Ad-hoc judges should be appointed. The constitution allows it. Moreover, the Judicial Commission appoints them, not the chief justice,” he explained, as the PTI keeps raising concerns about CJP Isa.

It is pertinent to mention here that Baqar and Alam were among four judges, including Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Sardar Tariq Masood, whose names were to be considered in the JCP’s Friday meeting.