Imprison Musharraf like Nehal to prove writ, freedom, Ahsan asks SC

By News Desk

MULTAN: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Saturday the court’s authority and impendence would be established when it jailed former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf for contempt just like it did in case of Nehal Hashmi.

He was commenting on the sentencing of Nehal and the contempt of court notices issued to two other PML-N leaders Talal Chaudhry and Daniyal Aziz.

Ahsan said Musharraf had committed the biggest contempt of court. "I will accept that the Supreme Court has become independent the day when it summons Musharraf and directs police to put him in Adiala Jail."

“If the court is unable to summon Musharraf, serving contempt notices to common political workers is not going to reinforce its authority,” he remarked.

Talking to journalists during the wedding ceremony of senior politician Javed Hashmi’s daughter, the interior minister said the entire world had expressed reservations over the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif. “If commenting on this judgment is contempt of court then masses would commit that contempt at each public meeting in coming days,” he said.

“I do not know anyone from Gwadar to Karachi who thinks that the decision taken against Nawaz is based on justice,” the federal minister said.

Ahsan said Musharraf was the prime accused of contempt of court as he had committed the crimes of violating Constitution, locking up judges, dragging the chief justice on road while pulling his hair, locking up his children and stopping supply of their medicines.

The court should treat Musharraf in a way similar to Talal and Daniyal, and put first him in prison like Nehal, he added.

He rejected the reports of differences in the PML-N over the nomination of Shahbaz Sharif as the next prime minister. “Nawaz Sharif is our leader and we accept his decisions,” he said.

The removal of Nawaz had shocked investors who had started leaving the country, he said.

“If the Supreme Courts becomes controversial in among the eyes of masses, it would not serve the country’s interest,” Ahsan said and warned that economic growth had stopped since the July 28 verdict.

Ahsan said Pakistan had become an emerging economy in Nawaz’s tenure, adding that the multi-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor was merely a piece of paper till July 2013 and had been finalised by the former prime minister during his visit to China.

Responding to a query, he said efforts were made to arrest SSP Rao Anwar and the government had prevented his escape from the country.

Meanwhile, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, who also attended the wedding, said the current situation had created a rift among institutions and warned that there would be no stability even after the elections, if the confrontation did not come to an end.

He said they did not want to criticise judiciary and the court verdict should be honoured at all levels no matter it was right or wrong.

Saad told journalists that the person, who moved the court instead settling political affairs in a political manner, was responsible for the current disorder way.

He said court verdicts could not jam politics, adding that they had been made a punching bag.

Criticising Dr Shahid Masood, Saad said he was a blot on the face of journalism and the journalists involved in creating differences among political parties would not be able to achieve their desired goals. Saad said the Charter of Democracy had not been implemented in the letter and spirit.