Justice Athar Minallah of Supreme Court has maintained that freedom of speech was the basic human right and without it progress of a society start to diminish. Justice Minallah remarked that Pakistan lost her arm due to lack of freedom of speech in 1971.
Addressing a moot on Future of Pakistan in London, Justice Minallah opined that Pakistan should hold “genuine elections” and not just for the sake of elections.
Justice Minallah said it is a test case for the courts to get their verdicts implemented and restore their credibility in the eyes of the masses.
The apex court judge observed that missing persons issue would be highlighted as an issue had it been surfaced in Punjab. Since the issue has emerged in Balochistan and KP so it is not considered as an issue, he analysed. Justice Minallah said the Constitution was abrogated several times in Pakistan but no one was punished for it. He said he cannot speak about actions and performance of the courts but he expressed the hope that young judges will bring changes to the system.
