Advisor to the Prime Minister on Accountability Irfan Qadir has said that accountability should be held without any discrimination and no one is exempted from accountability.
He expressed these views while addressing a press conference at the Governors House. He said the government and parliament were standing with the judiciary and there was no ambiguity in the Constitution regarding accountability. He added that no one was above the Constitution and law, and everyone would be held accountable. He said until all the institutions were brought under accountability with uniformity, supremacy of law could not be established in the country, adding that if any institution did not support, then it would be shared with the nation.
He said their effort was aimed at ensuring that the rule of legal system remains stable in the country until the end of the current government’s tenure. “We have seen for some time that the Supreme Court has become very active for supremacy of the law and the constitution,” he said. He appealed that judges should not get involved in political affairs of the country, but should take steps to ensure justice to people.
Irfan Qadir said there was a system of self-accountability in judiciary, adding that no one was free for corruption and the case of alleged corruption of a judge of the Islamabad High Court had come to the light, and the alleged audio leaks in this regard had also surfaced. He said that politicians and bureaucrats should also be held accountable. He said if a person commits malfeasance, he would have to face the consequences. Irfan Qadir said the government had set up a commission in which the most senior judge had been included, but the judiciary had disabled the commission.
The right to appeal was given to those involved in serious crimes, but the former prime ministers were sent packing without giving them the right to appeal, he said. The advisor said there was an intra-court appeal in the High Court at that time and no one had said that it was against the Constitution. He said the law should apply to all. In response to a question, he said that in the case against Nawaz Sharif, there could be no disqualification for life.
A law has been passed by the Senate, and only five years of disqualification could be imposed under that law. When the case would be reopened, it would be known whether things went wrong, he said and added that Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for not taking salary from his son. To another question, he said the coalition government did not have two-thirds majority, and the new parliament would make legislation on crucial issues. In response to another question, Irfan Qadir said new laws had been made to strengthen the judicial institutions.
About trial in military courts, Irfan Qadir said if someone wanted to challenge the military courts, there was no hurdle for him. However, those who attack or vandalize the military installations, whether they are soldiers or civilians, their cases would be tried in military courts, he concluded.
