'State busy in forming and dislodging govts': SC judge Athar Minallah

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Supreme Court's Justice Athar Minallah remarked on Friday that the “state is focused on toppling and bringing governments”, with all institutions targeting political opponents.

The senior SC judge gave these remarks while hearing the bail petition of murder suspect. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, heard the murder case.

During the hearing, the top court ordered the immediate arrest of murder suspect Ishaq and directed the SP Supreme Court to hand him over to jail authorities after his bail plea was rejected.

Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the case had been pending in the apex court since 2017 while the state is focused on toppling and bringing governments, with institutions primarily targeting political opponents.

Justice Jamal Mandokhel also commented on the state’s situation, mentioning that three prime ministers had been killed, but there is no clarity on the status of their cases. He also highlighted that even the senior-most judges in Balochistan had been killed without any follow-up.

Justice Athar Minallah added that as long as state institutions remain engaged in political engineering, the country will continue facing such challenges.

Justice Athar Minallah further criticised the failure to take responsibility for the assassination of a prime minister, stating that it took forty years for the crime to be acknowledged, calling the lack of accountability a significant injustice.

Justice Jamal Mandokhel observed that public trust in institutions was dwindling, with people now expecting the Supreme Court to handle all matters.