PTI pays tribute to Shah, Minallah

Two key PTI leaders on Friday paid tributes to the Supreme Court judges — Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah — who resigned after passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment as they vowed to fight for independence of the judiciary.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Asad Qaiser said the legal community should stand with Justice Shah and Justice Minallah. He saluted the judges for their principled stand and announced that the party would hold a meeting at 2pm today to decide its next course of action.

Criticizing the government’s approach to introducing amendments, he asked if this was how the Constitution is rejigged. “You change the law once, then come back and say it is not like this but like that,” he added.

Commenting on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Qaiser said once Nawaz raised the slogan of “respect the vote” but now he rarely appeared in public “though he showed up at the National Assembly yesterday during vote on the Constitutional Amendment bill”.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also commented on the judge’s resignation stating that the PTI would restore judicial independence.

He said the PTI is striving to keep democracy running and will protect the judiciary at all costs. However, Gohar warned that such decisions will spread unrest in the country.

He said there is a huge difference between the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments.

“The Supreme Court has been deprived of its fundamental rights [through the 27th amendment]. If there must be amendments, they should reflect institutional independence and the will of the people. “The PTI remains committed to restoring the freedom of the judiciary and it will continue its protest in parliament as well,” he said.