Pakistan - PTI government’s attempt to blackmail, intimidate and harass an honourable judge of the SC has failed

The recent judgement on Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s review petition is a welcome development. The PTI government’s attempt to blackmail, intimidate and harass an honorable judge of the Supreme Court has failed. It was an assault on the entire judiciary. There must be accountability for those in the PTI government who were part of this conspiracy. The accountability process must start from the Prime Minister who initiated this reference with malafide intent of attacking the Supreme Court and attempted to send a message of fear to every independent judge in the country. Attacks on judiciary are hallmarks of dictatorships. President Arif Alvi acted as the Prime Minister’s accomplice in this illegal, unconstitutional attack and as result lost any moral right to continue in office he and should resign immediately. It has also been established that Shahzad Akbar and Farogh Nasim acted maliciously and in bad faith to threaten the judiciary and they should be immediately removed from their positions and an independent inquiry initiated against them. The entire episode is a scathing indictment of this government, its bullying tactics, and its disregard for rule of law.

The PPP has always been an unwavering advocate of a strong, independent judiciary and even when historically PPP has been a victim of judicial murder and unfair treatment for three generations. PPP has always stood by constitutional supremacy and has never resorted to intrigues against or attack on the judiciary. Rule of law and not rule of men is the cardinal principle of democracy and the PPP will always be in the frontline to defend judicial independence, constitutional supremacy, and democracy. The PPP demands that this government respects democratic norms and end its campaign of victimization of judiciary, political opposition, media and all critical and dissenting voices.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24692/