Politicizing of judiciary will be collective loss, Iqbal's open tweet to CJP

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday tweeted that politicization of the judiciary will be the country's collective loss. 

The Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) was responding to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar's criticism of the government of Punjab during the hearing of Punjab's laptop distribution scheme.

Justice Nisar had expressed his dissatisfaction with the provincial government's performance and also issued a warning to the government officials to mend their ways 'while they still had time.'

"Honourable Chief Justice! It is for the people of Punjab to judge [the] performance in the upcoming elections. How can you make such statements just before [the] general election? Is judiciary a political party?" Iqbal tweeted. 

"Imran Khan or Asif Zardari can make such statements. Politicization of judiciary will be our collective loss," wrote the interior minister.  

Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam also tweeted a response to the CJP's comment. 

"Make your own inferences," she wrote.

The apex court had earlier taken a suo motu notice of the printing of the Chief Minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif's pictures on the laptops distributed under the provincial government's Higher Education Department's scheme.

"Why do the pictures of Punjab CM surface everywhere...even date sheets have Shehbaz's pictures printed on them," Justice Nisar had earlier said. 

"Government officials are using the money of a nation burdened by debts for self-publicity."

The CJP had also expressed his deep concern and apprehension about the increasing national debt.