They had the people waiting. After keep mum ever since the Dr Arsalan Iftikhar scandal made the headlines, the country’s main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the up-and-coming force to be reckoned with, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, have finally come out of the shadows and announced unflinching support for the chief justice of Pakistan and the judiciary.
Taking a jab at rival political leaders for protecting their sons in charges of corruption against them, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday praised Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for taking action against his son’s alleged misdoing, and vowed to back the judiciary to counter all conspiracies. “The civil society, political parties and the entire nation will stand behind the judiciary which is facing conspiracies,” Nawaz said in a statement. “The current rulers are ready to go to any limit to protect their children involved in multi-million-rupee corruption, while Justice Chaudhry has set an example for others by taking suo motu notice of allegations against his son,” it said. “The nation is well aware of the conspiracies being hatched to defame the judiciary. Political parties, the civil society and nation will not let such conspirators succeed,” Nawaz said.
The man with the cleansing plan, PTI Chairman Imran Khan also said he would standby the Supreme Court. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Khan said conspiracies against the apex court were being hatched for the last few years.
The former world champion cricketer said allegations against the country’s top judge were crafted by conspirators who wanted the status quo to persist.
Imran Khan also rejected allegations that he received money from real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, saying he did not take even a single penny from Riaz, offering to say the same under oath on the Holy Quran.
Lawyers across the country also raised a voice in favor of the country’s top judge through a nationwide strike on Wednesday, slamming the allegations leveled by Malik Riaz against the chief justice.
The Islamabad High Court Bar Association and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Bar Association expressed solidarity with the chief justice and pledged to launch a movement against those who were conspiring against the judiciary.
The Lahore Bar Association, led by its President Chaudhry Zulfiqar, also held a protest outside the civil courts.
A large number of lawyers chanted slogans in support of the chief justice and condemned Malik Riaz’s claims.
The lawyers said they were united as they were during Musharraf’s era when a similar conspiracy was hatched against the chief justice.
The Pakistan Bar Council has called a meeting tomorrow in Lahore and the Lahore High Court Bar and District Bar Association have also convened meetings for devising a future course of action vis-à-vis Arsalan Iftikhar case.
With SC to the end
