Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while hearing the case related to media coverage of the Abbottabad raid, said on Tuesday that the Supreme Court has the final authority in decision making.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by the chief justice, heard the petition filed by Sardar Ghazi on the media’s role after the Abbottabad operation that killed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
The petition stated that following the incident of May 2, 2011, the media played a role in discrediting the country’s judiciary and its army.
In his arguments, petitioner’s counsel, Raja Irshad, said that the media had wrongly depicted Monday’s statements of the army chief and the chief justice and had given the impression that both state institutions were in conflict with one another.
The chief justice directed the counsel to refrain from speaking on the subject, adding that, the court was “seriously considering the statements made yesterday (Monday)”.
During the hearing, Sardar Ghazi’s lawyer Raja Irshad told the court that Army respects the court and has implemented all its orders. Replying to this, the chief justice remarked, “Yes, we have witnessed it yesterday. Our position is very clear and no one should have any kind of doubts.”
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry questioned that what happened against Pakistan’s security and who did what. “President’s article was published in a US newspaper after the Abbottabad operation, keep that article before you and then tell us what happened,” CJ said.
The chief justice then summoned President Zardari’s article that was read out by Raja Irshad.
Later, the court instructed the petitioner to gather all the statements of former Pakistan ambassador to US Husain Haqqani and ISPR and adjourned the hearing till November 26.
SC is the final decision maker: CJ
