KARACHI: The ruling party has decided to stay away from the recent fiasco involving the chief justice’s son and a real estate tycoon, and the president and the premier issued orders to the effect on Friday.
President Asif Ali Zardari directed all party members to refrain from commenting on the alleged corruption case involving Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s son Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, reportedly at a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and acting Governor Nisar Khuhro at Bilawal House on Friday.
According to sources, the meeting was not a formal one and was a routine call made by the chief minister on the president’s return from China.
Official spokesperson for the president Farhatullah Babar was not available to officially confirm the remarks attributed to President Zardari.
Media reports suggested that the president issued the directives to keep the Pakistan Peoples Party away from any controversy arising out of the case. He also reportedly said that the PPP believed in an independent judiciary. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani issued the same directives at a meeting at the Governor House on Friday.
“We hold the judiciary in high esteem. The Pakistan Peoples Party has played front role in the restoration of the judges and the independence of the judiciary. The party has given more sacrifices than any other political party for the cause of the judiciary,” he said.
“We cannot even think of becoming a part of any conspiracy against the judiciary,” the premier added.
(Read: Untangled interests)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2012.
COMMENTS (12)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
.............zardari's political strategy rests on his capacity to outwait his enemy, that is to wait to the point where his opponent strangles himself, or the events so conspire that his opponent has discredited himself in the eyes of people! a brilliant political strategist and the biggest beneficiary of the current imbroglio where his enemies are bludgeoning one another to the blue!
How come. Raja Riaz , Qamar Zaman and others are giving statements every day. How they will keep clear from this case.
@Usman You seem to have shorter memory even. You trying to put the facts quite upside down and criminally ignoring what PMLN did to judiciary in 1997. Telling lies is a hallmark of PMLN politics.
@Usman, you shamelessly forgot PMLN attack on Supreme Court in 1997. Come on guy demand resignation from CJ also. Corruption is a crime whether it sis done by a Sindhi politician or a Punjabi judge or general
Not a PPP supporter, but welcome this decision and hope jialas stick to it.
CJP is great hope for Pakistan.All political parties including PMLN but more esepcially PPP consider him threat to their vested interest and will work behind the scene to destroy him..I hope for the sake of Pakitsan they dont succeed.CJP's son may as well prove to be corrupt and he must be punished but that does not and must not impact the Supremme court and its upright chief Justice.
Instead we commenting on each passing second, we must just watch whats happening now... Being Pakistani we should encourage our Hnrble Supreme Court.
@Usman: You have put the things exactly the opposite, my friend. Look at the history, near and far, No one has tried to damage and destry the PPP more than our so-called Justice System. Its a recognised universal fact, ehether someone agrees or not.
@Usman: There is another party done more damage and that is PMLN, attacked on the court of then chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah. PPP did not make any attempt yet.
@Mirza: It's a political decision. No party has done more damage (or tried to) to our Justice System than the PPP. We have short memories, but they're not that short!
Great decision on the part of PPP. They do not have to be a party in this corruption case involving many generals and CJ's son. Let the CJ keep making wrong legal and bad political decisions in which he has boxed himself in. Now that cat is out of the bag and the independent media and intellectuals would deal with the issue. For a change the shoe is on the other foot.