Pak Cabinet issues strong condemnation of Chief Justice

Islamabad, May 12 (IANS) Pakistan's federal Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has issued a strong condemnation against the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Umar Ata Bandial, for his "extraordinary intervention" in the arrest of former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, media reports said.

The Cabinet deemed the intervention as "misconduct" on the part of the top judge, The Express Tribune reported.

According to the Cabinet, Imran Khan's arrest was carried out in compliance with the Constitution, law, and legal procedures in the "open and shut case of corruption and corrupt practices".

The federal Cabinet reiterated its stance that the CJP's interference was unjustifiable and condemned it in the strongest possible terms. It also denounced the CJP's interference as "misconduct", The Express Tribune reported.

The Cabinet said that the expression "good to see you" by a person sitting on the highest seat of justice - CJP - for an accused arrested in a corruption case was "a shameful stain" on the forehead of the justice system.

The Cabinet statement read that the history of Islam, the civilised world, and judicial fora attest that such behaviour is unbecoming of any judge, The Express Tribune reported.

The government's reaction came a day after CJP Umar Ata Bandial led a three-member bench that granted "extraordinary" relief to Khan in an alleged multi-billion corruption case of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

On Thursday, a three-member bench led by the CJP termed Khan's arrest as "invalid and unlawful", and directed the law enforcers to provide him "foolproof" security until his appearance before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). It also "requested" Khan to condemn the violence that took place following his arrest from the IHC premises and asked him to consider opening up dialogue with his political opponents.