Restoration of Chief Justice and other sacked judges a welcome step: Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri

Chairman Pakistan Awami Tehreek, Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, has welcomed the government's decision to reinstate the sacked judges of superior judiciary including deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Paying tribute to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the PM exercised political statesmanship at this critical juncture and paved the way for resumption of reconciliation process that got stalled due to widening political gap. He said lawyers had major role to play in the struggle for independence of judiciary and hence deserved felicitation and credit for this momentous achievement. He said independent judiciary was a necessary pre-condition for strong institutions and robust democracy.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri appreciated the role of media in the movement for awakening the collective consciousness of people vis-à-vis judicial crisis. He said media's role was important for correcting multiple disorders now afflicting the society. He said Pakistan Awami Tehreek hoped that independence of judiciary would be instrumental in political and economic stability of Pakistan. He urged leaders across political divide to take necessary steps for establishment of supremacy of parliament and de-politicisation of executive for good governance. "This could be possible only when political parties learnt to respect each other's mandate," he maintained. Shaykh-ul-Islam said that there was a lot that remained to be done. He hoped that free and independent judiciary would be able to come up to people's expectation by passing verdicts in a fair and impartial manner.