ISLAMABAD:
A senior Supreme Court judge has pointed out that the “State” is busy installing and overthrowing political governments in the country, while all institutions are busy going after political opponents.
“As long as state institutions are involved in political engineering, the situation will remain the same. If the Constitution had been respected, these circumstances would not have arisen,” Judge Athar Minallah said on Friday.
The judge was part of a three-member court that was hearing the pre-arrest bail application of a murder suspect, Ishaq. Led by Justice Jamal Khan Mandhokhail, the bench also included Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan.
During the hearing, Justice Mandokhail also criticized the State for its alleged unwillingness “to do anything.” “What can we say about the State? Three
“Prime ministers have been killed but no one has been held accountable,” he said in apparent reference to Prime Minister Liaquid Ali Khan, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
He said a senior judge in Balochistan was also killed, but nothing was discovered. “The real problem is the lack of will to do something. Compared to other provinces, investigations in Sindh and Punjab are extremely poor,” he said.
Referring to the bail application, Justice Minallah said these cases have been pending in the Supreme Court since 2017, while the state remains busy overthrowing and forming governments.
Mandokhail noted that people have lost trust in institutions and expect the Supreme Court to take care of everything.
Justice Minallah, however, stated that even the Supreme Court is as truthful as the rest of the society. “It took [us] forty years to recognize the assassination of a democratically elected prime minister [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto].
“What crime could be greater than the assassination of a prime minister? Someone should have been held accountable and punished,” he added.
Justice Malik asked what would be the condition of a common man in a country whose prime ministers do not get justice. “One day a prime minister is in Prime Minister House and the next day, in jail. Nobody knows how long he will remain prime minister,” he added.
Later, the Supreme Court ordered the CS superintendent of police to arrest the accused and hand him over to the jail authorities. The accused had previously absconded after obtaining bail.
In the recent past, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was removed in view of a SC order in July 2017. He was later convicted and jailed even during his party’s rule.
Imran Khan’s government was overthrown by a no-confidence vote in April 2022. He was arrested on different charges in August 2023 and remains in detention.
