ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi on Thursday called upon the intelligence agencies to give up their “old habit” of meddling in judicial and political matters as it is not only damaging for the country but will also weaken Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir dispute at the global stage.

Speaking at a presser here along with opposition leader in AJK legislative assembly Khawaja Farooq Ahmed and others, he said that Pakistan was grappling with serious issues; hence, all state institutions should perform their duties by staying within their constitutional ambit.

He termed the letter by six judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as an important development in the political and constitutional history of the country as it clearly exposed how the judges were influenced, intimidated, and coerced by spy agencies to get favourable decisions.

Niazi claimed that the people of Pakistan showed great courage and voted for Imran Khan and PTI on February 8 despite all adversarial circumstances and state coercive tactics but PTI’s overwhelming majority was converted into a minority and the entire polls robbery plot was exposed by former Commissioner Rawalpindi through forms 47.

He recalled that under the same strategy, the PTI AJK government was ousted despite being in the majority as the party’s lawmakers were ‘coerced and pressurised’ to switch their loyalties.

He said that the Kashmir situation warranted a politically, economically, and diplomatically stable and strong Pakistan to pursue the Kashmir case effectively on the global stage and could put pressure to resolve the issue as per the UN-agreed resolutions.

The opposition leader in the AJK legislative assembly condemned the meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the chief justice of Pakistan to discuss the situation created after six judges penned a starling letter to the SJC.

However, Khawaja Farooq demanded the resignation of the CEC and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, adding that they were “damaging the country”.

He stressed the need to respect the public mandate and that ‘defeated political forces’ should not be imposed on the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024