The Federal Ministry of Law and Justice on Sunday spoke out against the “social media attack” that it said the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been the target of, terming it utterly reprehensible.
“The social media attack by a Political Party on Chief Justice Islamabad High Court is utterly reprehensible,” read the statement shared on social media, “Political parties should refrain from attacking the Institutions of the country.” It may be noted that senior lawyer and PPP’s former Punjab governor Sardar Latif Khosa has hinted towards launching a lawyers’ movement in response to the maltreatment and humiliation faced by the legal fraternity. Notably, Khosa is also Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s lead counsel and the statement came only after he alongside 16 other lawyers was rescued from a malfunctioning elevator at the IHC earlier this week.
The lawyers remained trapped for approximately 45 minutes before being rescued by the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) rescue officials on Thursday. The incident, occurring shortly after Khosa’s appearance in the Toshakhana case against Imran, left the lawyers in a cramped space without lights or a fan. Naeem Haider Panjotha and Ali Ejaz Buttar were among the lawyers trapped in the elevator.
Meanwhile, videos of the trapped lawyers quickly circulated on social media, sparking concerns and accusations of alleged “harassment”. The controversy too had come after PTI chief Imran Khan had levelled serious allegations against the IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, accusing him of “deep and settled bias”. In a petition moved in the Supreme Court last Wednesday, the former prime minister said he is being held in Attock jail after being “convicted on a cooked up and fabricated charge after a ‘trial’ in gross abuse of due process”. Imran primarily blamed the IHC chief justice for this “injustice”. “More than sufficient incontrovertible evidence is available to establish the deep and settled bias of the CJ IHC towards the petitioner,” the application read, accusing him of “endeavouring to do everything to keep the petitioner behind bars with the intent that he be unable to contest the forthcoming general elections and thus be ousted from the politics of Pakistan.”
