SC to hear RPPs case ‘even if heavens fall down’: CJ

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday said drums were being beaten outside the court premises to force the court not to hear the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case, but the court would do so “even if the heavens fall down”. The Supreme Court of Pakistan had on Tuesday ordered the National Accountability Bureau to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the RPPs case. The orders, which were given while Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march was underway in the federal capital, caused uproar across the country. During the hearing of a case at the Supreme Court, the chief justice exchanged the remarks with Yasin Azad, the former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. The CJ said the judges had taken an oath to provide justice to all and the court would pass a verdict in the case in accordance with the law and constitution. Referring to the comments made by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and Law Minister Farooq H Naik, the CJ criticised both the ministers for giving out opinions on the case “without knowing the details”. The deadline for authorities to arrest the prime minister, along with 16 other respondents in the case, ended on Wednesday without any arrest. Hearing another constitutional plea moved by Workers’ Party Pakistan through Akhtar Hussain advocate regarding electoral reforms, the chief justice observed that the Supreme Court had already held that there should only be a democratic system in the country.