Authority of court will be established when it jails Musharraf like Hashmi: Iqbal

MULTAN: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that the court’s authority would be established when it jails former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for contempt like it did with Nehal Hashmi.

Hashmi, a Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz (PML-N) politicians was sentenced to one-month imprisonment and fined Rs50,000 for contempt by the Supreme Court. He was also disqualified from holding public office for five years.

Speaking to the press here, Iqbal said general Musharraf had committed the biggest contempt of court. " I will accept that the Supreme Court has become independent, the day when it summons Musharraf and directs police to put him in Adiyala Jail." Iqbal said, adding “if the court is unable to summon Musharraf, serving contempt notices to common political workers is not going to reinforce its authority”.

Maryam Nawaz questions contempt notices issued to PML-N leaders

She was addressing PML-N Social Media Convention in Gujranwala

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court issued contempt of court notices to ministers Tallal Chaudhry and Daniyal Aziz.

Iqbal said that not only the PML-N but the entire legal fraternity of the country and abroad expressed their reservations on the court’s decision to disqualify party president Nawaz Sharif.

Iqbal added that he doesn’t think anyone from Gwadar to Karachi thinks the decision taken against Nawaz is based on the criteria of justice.

Responding to a question, he said that the entire party is united over Shehbaz Sharif’s nomination as the next prime minster. “Nawaz is our leader and we accept his decisions, therefore the party is completely unanimous over Shehbaz’s nomination.”

Iqbal emphasised that Pakistan had become an emerging economy in the Nawaz-led tenure, adding that the multi-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor was merely a piece of paper till July 2013, it was Nawaz who finalized it during his visit to China.