- Condemns attack on church in Quetta
LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar’s likening the role of the judiciary to a “baba” has irked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership.
Speaking at the seminar organised by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) in Lahore on Saturday, CJP Mian Saqib Nisar likened the role of the judiciary to a “baba” (judiciary) and said, “This judiciary is your “baba”, do not doubt its integrity. The judiciary did not and would not become part of any plan.”
The chief justice observed that states not governed by honest and upright people are bound to suffer and lag behind developed nations of the world.
PPP Central Information Secretary Chaudhry Manzoor sought replies on few questions from the judiciary and said, “What decision should people take from the verdicts of the judiciary?” He added, “How can people believe on the statement of CJP that judiciary delivers justice to everyone?”
He further went on to say that the baba sided with every dictator and provided legal cover to every martial law in the country. “The judiciary caused the judicial murder of PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and later admitted that he made a big mistake while being under pressure,” Chaudhry Manzoor added.
He also said that the judiciary gave different verdicts in pleas of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto. The judiciary awarded punishment to Benazir Bhutto on the pressure of Nawaz Sharif, he added.
Referring to the rejection of reopening the Rs1.2 billion Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference against the Sharifs, Manzoor said that five sons of “baba” agreed to reopen the Hudaibiya case whereas three said no. He further questioned that why the court said no to reopening the Hudaibiya case.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench on December 15 rejected the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) appeal to reopen Hudaibiya reference case. The bench comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Qazi Faez Issa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel had been hearing an appeal against a 2014 decision of the Lahore High Court to quash the reference.
A NAB lawyer had attempted to convince the Supreme Court to allow reopening the Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference for the “sake of justice”.
The PPP central information secretary also lashed out at the role of the judiciary during the rule of former dictator Pervez Musharraf and said that the judiciary gave him those powers which he had not demanded, and legitimised his illegal rule in the country.
Meanwhile, the PPP also condemned the suicide attack on the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church on Quetta’s Zarghoon Road in which nine people were killed and 15 others were injured.
In a statement, Punjab PPP President Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the PPP condemns the attack in the strongest possible words and demands the government to give protection to Christian community on the eve of Christmas. He added that such attacks can be stopped through better intelligence.
He further said that the attackers tried to damage atmosphere of brotherhood and harmony among all communities in the country but they will not succeed in their designs.
