Pakistani judges like to make political comments: PM

LAHORE: “In other countries, judges let their judgments speak for themselves. Unfortunately in Pakistan, judges not only deliver decisions but like to make political comments also,” Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on his return from his European tour in an exclusive interview with Express News.

The prime minister referred to certain power brokers as “Multani Kings.”

When asked to elaborate on what he meant by “Multani Kings”, Gilani said that “there is an old expression in Seraiki, where in order to explain to an individual his comments or thoughts, they are sarcastically told that they are Kings.”

Gilani added that although the judiciary has been restored, it is still in its teething process and has a lot to learn.

When asked about how he gauged people’s reactions to the ongoing clash of institutions, Gilani replied that “the Pakistani people are intelligent and are carefully observing the judiciary’s decisions because people as a rule of thumb, like to make final decisions themselves.”

When told that some observers have termed Gilani’s European trip a failure owing to the European Union’s (EU) refusal to grant preferential trade access to Pakistani exports, the prime minister disagreed.

“Nato and the EU have both understood our priorities and problems and have accepted our point of view that the Pakistani military needs capacity building and that our economy requires free trade access to European markets. The EU was unable to grant such access owing to technicalities.”

Published in the Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2010.