ISLAMABAD
\nSupreme Court (SC) Justice Athar Minallah has written an emphatic letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, calling for the convening of a conference to consider threats to the judiciary while also lamenting the use of the apex court as an instrument to suppress the people\u2019s will by \u201cunelected elite\u201d, it emerged on Tuesday. In the seven-page letter, which Dawn has seen, Justice Minallah said that the missive was being recorded as a \u201csolemn duty to the Constitution and to place on record for future generations how their destiny was being shaped behind the marble walls of the last resort of justice\u201d.
\nHe said that it was being written in the wake of recent events, which had greatly eroded public confidence in the judiciary.
\n\u201cInstitutions are not built overnight, but they can be destroyed in no time through fear, surrender or submission to the powers. The history of our judiciary is not unblemished nor flattering. However, its past failings, no matter how grave, cannot justify its continued capture to serve the interests of the unelected elites,\u201d he said. Justice Minallah said that as a sitting SC judge, he felt it was his duty to raise his concerns regarding the erosion of the people\u2019s trust.
\n\u201cI had taken an oath to defend, protect, and preserve the Constitution, but find myself helpless because the fundamental rights covenanted to the people have too often been reduced to mere clich\u00e9 or rhetoric. We may pretend otherwise, but the stark reality is unpleasant and embarrassing for me as a judge of the highest Court and as a guardian of the Constitution,\u201d he said. \u2014 DNA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Supreme Court (SC) Justice Athar Minallah has written an emphatic letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, calling for the convening of a conference to consider threats to the judiciary while also lamenting the use of the apex court as an instrument to suppress the people\u2019s will by \u201cunelected elite\u201d, it emerged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-513982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n