Efforts For Independent Judiciary: Iftkhar Ch

PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said media and civil society played the pivotal role in the success of lawyers’ movement but for the complete independence of judiciary and independent Pakistan, still more efforts are required.

Addressing the Islamabad Bar Association (IBA), Iftikhar said past government amended the constitution according to their vested interests and wills. “Judiciary endorsed the unconstitutional government and the situation today would be different only if judiciary avoided support of illegitimate government in past.”

“Print and electronic media took the bull by the horn by resisting the unconstitutional action of emergency imposed on November 3, 2007 by the then president,” he said and added, “Media, civil society and lawyers rendered unprecedented sacrifices and struggled as much as they could for the restoration of independent judiciary.”

“Now, no judge of Supreme Court (SC) and High Courts (HCs) will take oath against constitution”, CJP concluded.