Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday observed that the deployment of judicial officers in the elections process was in the best national interest.

The CJ, in a letter addressed to the district and sessions judges, additional district and sessions judges and senior civil judges/civil judges, who have been appointed as district returning officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers, said that it was their moral and legal duty to prove their worth and credibility by conducting election in a free, fair and transparent manner.

He said that while formulating the National Judicial Policy, it was considered appropriate to keep the judiciary away from the election process so that it could concentrate all its strength on clearance of backlog and expeditious dispensation of justice. However, acceding to the request of the Election Commission of Pakistan, so as to ensure transparency and credibility of the electoral process, the NJPMC granted relaxation in the National Judicial Policy.

Thus, the judicial officers have been deputed to perform functions for conducting general elections for the National Assembly/Provincial Assembly seats, he added.He said the judicial officers were required to discharge their responsibilities in accordance with law, without succumbing to any sort of pressure and treat all and sundry equally across the board.

As the process of entertaining nomination papers and scrutiny is underway thus any decision taken by the judiciary will go a long way in shaping the destiny of this nation, particularly at his crucial stage when the country and the nation is confronted with number of problems and difficulties; therefore, we should come out with commitment to enforce the constitutional mandate and ensure that the elected representatives come forward to govern this country without having any label of any disqualification, he said.

The Chief Justice, in his letter, further asked the officers that due to his preoccupation in judicial work, it would not be possible for him to reach each and every judicial officer engaged in the election process, so he was sending letter with a pledge that all must strive together to strengthen the democratic order and enrich the judicial norms.