Chief justice did not call PM a 'faryadi', clarifies SC

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar has never used the word 'faryadi' for Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the Supreme Court said Thursday after the top judge's reported comments were met with criticism from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

During a hearing earlier in the day, it was reported that the chief justice had said his job was to listen to the pleas of every 'faryadi' (complainant).

"The prime minister came with a plea, and it is my duty to hear everyone’s requests. I didn’t go to the PM house or the Secretariat. They came to visit me," Justice Nisar was quoted as saying.

Speaking to the media after the hearing, former premier Nawaz Sharif said the prime minister could seek an explanation from the chief justice over his remarks.

But later in the day, the Supreme Court issued a statement, denying the chief justice had used the term for the prime minister. 

"It is categorically stated that this attribution to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Mian Saqib Nisar is completely wrong and malicious," the statement said.

"[The] chief justice holds the prime minister in high esteem, being the head of the government, and has never used the word 'faryadi' for him."

 Any misgivings in this regard should be put to rest, it further said.  

'Never said such a thing'

In an informal conversation with journalists, the chief justice had denied calling the prime minister a 'faryadi' before the clarification from the apex court was issued.  

"Is it appropriate for a judge to call an elected prime minister a 'faryadi'," Geo News' correspondent Azaz Syed asked Justice Nisar, to which, he responded by saying 'I never said that.'

When Syed said that the chief justice's comments had been quoted throughout the day in which he had reportedly said 'a faryadi brought a faryad to him,' Justice Nisar denied making such comments. 

"I never said such a thing, who said it?" the chief justice said before the reporters were barred from asking more questions by his security protocol.