News
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Judges should be appointed with parliament’s approval: Nawaz
* PML-N chief says further delay in abolition of 17th amendment won’t be tolerated
* Honest society impossible without independent judiciaryStaff Report
LAHORE: Judges should be appointed through an independent judicial commission and with the approval of parliament, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday.
Talking to a 13-member delegation of lawyers – led by Supreme Court Bar Association President Qazi Anwar – that called on him at his Raiwind residence, Nawaz said the PML-N would not tolerate any further delay in the abolition of 17th amendment and it would not allow the government to retreat from the agreed position regarding the appointment of judges through an independent judicial commission.
He said the independence of the judiciary was a revolution for the country and that credit for restoring judges went to the public, lawyers, media and political workers.
Honest society: He said an honest society was not possible without an independent judiciary, adding the PML-N wanted the appointment of judges to be based on merit and in a transparent manner, “as this had already been agreed in the Charter of Democracy”.
“One person holding power over the country is against the solidarity and stability of the country,” he said, adding the attitude adopted by General (r) Pervez Musharaf towards the judiciary was a “shameful act” and it should be condemned.
The former prime minister said ignoring the problems of the masses could be harmful for democracy, adding that keeping national interest intact was the party’s basic responsibility.
The delegation head congratulated Nawaz over the completion of the judiciary’s first year since having being restored and expressed the hope that the PML-N would play its due role to support an independent judiciary. He also expressed concerns that “some powers were still conspiring against the judiciary”.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk