Authorities should take action on letters received by judges: Gohar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan Wednesday said that interference in the judiciary will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

“There should be independent judges in the judiciary who take decisions without fear, it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to protect the independence of judiciary,” he emphasised while talking to reporters outside the Islamabad High Court.

Referring to the letters with powder being received by judges, he contended that the authorities should take action on the letters as it was a serious matter and they should get to the bottom of it.

Barrister Gohar was optimistic that the Supreme Court would deal with this constitutional responsibility in every possible way, and it was a welcome process for the apex court to take suo motu notice of this matter and the court itself should investigate the letter.

The PTI chairman said the commission constituted by the government had the same powers as that of the civil judges, adding the Supreme Court should issue an order that can remove interference.

To a question, he said that they wanted reconciliation but there would be resistance to those who had stolen his party’s mandate. “We know those sitting before us have stolen our mandate yet we are sitting in parliament and have not resorted to en masse resignations or boycott or sit-in,” he noted.

Referring to the PMLN, PPP and MQM, Gohar said that there could be no political alliance with the three political parties that had taken away PTI seats.

Referring to Tuesday’s meeting of like-minded parties, he explained that they had agreed to an initial draft that there should be no interference in the public mandate and that there must be an end to rigging in elections forever. He added they had agreed to peacefully hold public meetings in different parts of the country.

Gohar maintained they wanted an elected government should complete its term but how could the incumbent regime, which was not a public government, do so. He claimed on his election as the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif could not thank others and only said that he would take along others for he knew was not an elected PM. Even others, including Asif Ali Zardari, could not congratulate him, Gohar added.