The establishment judiciary is actively involved in mocking and intimidating elected representatives, with Justice Athar’s dissenting note in the NAB case.
Islamabad: Justice Athar Minallah of the Supreme Court issued a dissenting note regarding the request to reject direct publications in the NAB trial case. In the 13-page note, Justice Athar Minallah wrote that there is no solid reason to deny the public direct access to the Supreme Court’s publications, instead violating the principles established in Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s case.
He wrote that when former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was arrested and sent to jail, he was not an ordinary prisoner but a victim of the state machinery influenced by a constitutional military ruler. The Supreme Court recently mentioned the injustice done to Zulfiqar Bhutto, stating that he was deprived of a fair trial, and the damage caused to him cannot be undone.
The learned judge said that neither Benazir Bhutto nor Nawaz Sharif were ordinary criminals, both had to face misuse of state power, as they had millions of followers for being elected representatives. They were both harassed and ridiculed, with false corruption cases filed against them without evidence by unelected persons.
Justice Athar Minallah said that it is astonishing that multiple trials are being conducted against another former Prime Minister, some of which have already resulted in his conviction. The recent general elections proved that the founder of PTI also has millions of supporters, and the founder of PTI is not an ordinary criminal or prisoner.
He wrote that the establishment judiciary’s collusion with the elected representatives in their mockery and harassment is evident, resulting in misconduct towards elected public representatives due to the nexus between the establishment and the judiciary.
Justice Athar Minallah further said that the NAB law was enforced by a military ruler on November 16, 1999, which targeted politicians for revenge. Continuous allegations were made that NAB was being used for political engineering, causing severe damage to NAB’s credibility and impartiality in the eyes of the public. Due to NAB law, people were kept in custody for many months to even many years, causing irreparable harm to the country. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Nawaz Sharif, and Yousaf Raza Gillani were not only humiliated but also their dignity was hurt.