Peshawar:
The president of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI), the lawyer Gohar Ali Khan, has asked the Supreme Court to take note of the suspension of the Judge of the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) Tariq Jahangiri, which ends the measure “unconstitutional and harmful for judicial independence”.
Speaking to the media in the Superior Court of Peshawar, the lawyer Gohar said that personal differences between the judges, which were ever limited to cameras and letters, have now spilled in open clashes in the courts. “For us, each door has been closed. We have reached a dead end, and the only option is to seek justice from the courts. Any extra -constitutional step is unacceptable,” he said.
He recalled that during the mandate of former justice president Iftikhar Chaudhry, the Supreme Court had established a precedent that no judge could be forbidden from judicial work, since doing so was equivalent to dismissal.
“Suspending a judge is against the Constitution. Such actions erodes public confidence in the Judiciary, which is already fragile,” he warned.
The lawyer Gohar criticized the growing perception that the Judiciary is no longer independent. “If the judges are fighting each other, how can the public depend on the courts for justice?” He questioned, urging the president of the Supreme Court to ensure that PTI’s pending cases are heard in accordance with the law.
The PTI chief also accused the lower courts of issuing “unfair” verdicts against the legislators of his party, claiming that the members received judgments collectively for a total of more than 100 years. “If the Supreme Court had maintained more closely surveillance, such decisions would not have been possible,” he said.
He stressed that denying access to the founding president of PTI and his wife was feeding public despair. “When the most popular leader in the country is imprisoned, propagates hopelessness and hopelessness generates resentment. Resentment threatens governments, damages the economy and weakens the State,” he added.
Announcing a demonstration of the party in Peshawar on September 27, Barríster Gohar said that all arrangements would be the responsibility of the provincial government. “People from all over the country will meet to raise their voice peacefully for their rights,” he said.
