Lawyers urge PTI to stop maligning judges over inquiry commission’s report

Senior leaders of superior bars have expressed concerns over ongoing smear campaign against judiciary on social media

ISLAMABAD: The legal fraternity on Sunday urged the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership to stop their supporters from maligning the judiciary on social media.

Senior leaders of superior bars have expressed concerns over the ongoing smear campaign against judiciary on social media after the inquiry commission probing the alleged rigging in 2013 general elections released its report, rejecting PTI’s allegations.

Read: Inquiry commission rejects PTI’s allegations

Talking to The Express Tribune, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Fazl-e-Haq Abbasi condemned the anti-judiciary campaign by some PTI supporters in the last couple of days. Demanding the PTI leadership to take notice of the abusive language being used against judges, SCBA president said, "I personally know both Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and they are upright, honest and unapproachable."

Further, the SCBA president questioned why abusive was being used against the judges when all parties agreed to accept the verdict of the commission.

Read: Inquiry commission's report proves judiciary's impartiality during polls, says Iftikhar Chaudhry

Terming the anti-judges remarks ‘unfair’, former SCBA president Kamran Murtaza said instead of blaming judges, PTI supporters should examine whether the standard of evidences presented in front of the inquiry commission were concrete enough to declare the elections as void. He also urged the PTI leadership to give a shut up call to all those maligning the judiciary.

Gohar Nawaz Sindhu, senior vice president of PTI legal wing said that despite the reservations over the contents of the report, it is unfair to ridicule judges. "Due to the lack of political maturity the young workers are blaming the whole judiciary," he added. Sindhu alleged that PTI’s legal team has mismanaged the case before inquiry commission claiming that the case was not properly presented during the proceedings as many evidences were not submitted to prove the alleged rigging.

However, Pakistan Bar Council chairman executive committee Ahsan Bhoon upheld that judges themselves invited the alleged anti-judiciary campaign by interfering in political matter.