CJ is our red line, warns Aitzaz

Prominent lawyer vows to foil all conspiracies against top judge

LAHORE:

Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Aitzaz Ahsan on Thursday warned against spreading confusion about the recent decision of the apex court in a suo motu case about the date of elections of the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) assemblies.

Talking to the media at the Lahore High Court (LHC), he said they would not let any conspiracy against Chief Justice of Pakistan to succeed, warning that the top judge of the country “is our red line”.

A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, in its 3-2 split verdict asked the president to announce the date of election for the Punjab Assembly and the K-P governor for the K-P Assembly in consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Ahsan said that the decision was being made controversial by spreading confusion in the public. “Some conspirators are hatching conspiracy against the chief justice but one thing should be very clear that we will not let any such move to succeed,” he said.

“He [chief justice] is our redline in a similar way the PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] supporters believe in Imran Khan and the PMLN’s [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz] supporters in Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz,” he added.

Ahsan, who also served as the law minister in the 1990s, also warned that those who were seeking extension in the 90-day timeframe for holding the election were actually committing the contempt of court.

“Elections are to be held within the stipulated time-frame because the tenure of the caretaker setup will end after 111 days,” the senior PPP leader said.

To a question, he said the crowds of the PML-N supporters in processions and public gatherings of Maryam Nawaz were gradually reducing. “Perhaps the people have known to her wrong stance about exclusion of a leader from political ground,” he said.

However, he added, Maryam Nawaz faced the jail with bravery, but her two brothers proved to be absconders.