- Says he wishes court had opened on July 5 when Gen Zia was removing an elected premier
- Criticises certain TV channel for creating situation like martial law going to be imposed
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan’s Justice Athar Minallah on Wednesday expressed the desire for courts to remain open whenever there is a threat of martial law in the country, which has experienced three martial laws.
In his address at an event of the New York City Bar Association, Justice Minallah said: “I wish every time there’s a threat of martial law, the courts remain open.”
The judge’s response came in response to a question, when a participant in the event asked him why did he open the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on April 9, 2022, at midnight — the day when former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted from power.
https://x.com/Sh_am_92/status/1815992085041877305
Justice Minallah criticised certain television channels for creating an environment suggestive of imminent martial law in Pakistan, although he refrained from naming any specific channels.
“A martial law atmosphere is being created. I don’t want to name the TV channel, but it is making it seem as if martial law is about to be imposed,” he remarked.
Reflecting on historical events, he lamented that the courts were not open on key dates when martial laws were imposed.
The nation has seen a total of three martial laws — 1958–1971, 1977–1988, 1999–2008 — spanning decades since its independence in 1947.
The judge, who served as the IHC chief justice from 2018-2022, told the participant that when he was appointed to the high-ranking office, he issued a circular that the high court would operate 24/7.
“1,400 benefited from that circular. Nobody knows about them because they were not political people, they were ordinary people. Only the Islamabad High Court did that. The high court was open for everyone,” Justice Minallah said.
“I wish the courts were open on 12 October 1999, when Pervez Musharraf ousted the elected prime minister. I wish the courts were open on 5 July 1977, when Ziaul Haq removed the elected prime minister,” he said.
“[A private television] channel created a situation as if martial law is going to be imposed,” the senior jurist said, about the news being aired amid the session on the no-confidence motion against then-PM Khan in April 2022.
“If anyone had attempted to remove unconstitutionally an elected prime minister till then, Imran Khan, then it would have been a test of the Islamabad High Court, whether it stands to uphold the Constitution or not.”
