Dr Zafar Mirza condemns social media campaign against judges

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Sunday condemned a defamation campaign running on social media against the apex court's judges, saying he has the highest respect for Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed.

The statement from the health adviser came a day before an important Supreme Court hearing on the coronavirus situation in the country.

The CJP on the last hearing had expressed dissatisfaction on the performance of the federal and provincial governments and questioned the credentials of Dr Mirza while recommending his removal.

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Later, Prime Minister Imran Khan had reportedly reprimanded Dr Mirza for ‘irresponsible’ behaviour before the apex court and for not apprising it adequately enough about the government’s efforts against the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, unknown quarters had launched a campaign against the apex court's judges while 'defending' the federal government and Dr Mirza's performance against the court's observations. 

In a series of tweets late on Sunday, Mirza condemned the defamation campaign against the judges and reiterated that he stands by them and will assist the court to the best of his ability.

“I have the highest respect & regard for the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan i.e. Justice Gulzar Ahmed, who is well known for his integrity, competence & patriotism & I hold all the Judges of the SC in the highest esteem,” he tweeted.

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“I strongly condemn the recent social media campaign against the Judiciary & would like to clarify that I stand with the Hon’ble Chief Justice & Judges of the SC and will do all to assist the Hon’ble Court & shall continue to work to serve the people to the best of my ability.”

The SAPM also claimed that Pakistan’s response towards COVID-19 pandemic is one of the best from both disease control and social mitigation perspectives, tweeting a graph comparing the spike in other countries with that of Pakistan.

FIA tasked to probe

PM Imran took “very strong notice” of the campaign in which “uncalled for, immoderate and intemperate language” had been used against the superior judiciary and Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed.

The prime minister directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general to look into the “malicious campaign” and depute a team of suitable officers to track down the culprits involved therein and take necessary legal action as per the laws, a Prime Minister Office press release said.