Supreme Court slams state institutions for ‘role in politics’

Supreme Court’s (SC) Justice Athar Minallah has slammed the state over its alleged involvement in politics, saying that “all institutions are after political opponents”.

During the hearing of a murder accused’s pre-arrest bail application, the apex court judge made strong observations on the unresolved murders of three former prime ministers, and the state of political accountability in the country.

“All institutions are after political opponents,” Justice Minallah said, adding that the murder of an elected premier was acknowledged after four decades.

“What can be a bigger crime than the assassination of a prime minister?" he asked.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandohkel also questioned the lack of accountability, asking what happened to the cases pertaining to the murders of former chief executives of the country. “Someone should have been held responsible and punished.”

He also noted widespread public mistrust of state institutions. “People want the Supreme Court to do all the work,” he remarked and pointed out the stark contrast in investigations across provinces.

“Compared to Sindh and Punjab, investigation in Balochistan is extremely poor. Even the senior-most judge in the province was killed and no one found anything.”

Justice Malik Shahzad raised concerns over the unpredictability of any prime minister’s tenure, saying that a prime minister was in the PM House one day and in jail the next.

“No one knows how long they will remain PM,” he said, questioning what could a common man expect in a country where even elected premiers met such fate.

The bench also expressed dismay over the political climate, saying that as long as state institutions remained involved in political engineering, the situation would prevail. Justice Minallah suggested that if the Constitution had been followed, the current situation could have been avoided.

“These cases have been pending in the Supreme Court since 2017, while the state is busy toppling and installing governments,” Justice Minallah said, highlighting the continuous delays in addressing high-profile cases.

He also expressed concern over political polarisation and the lack of institutional action on vital issues.

During the course of proceedings, the SC ordered the arrest of the accused, Ishaq, and directed that he be handed over to jail authorities.

The bench also emphasised the need for transparency and efficiency in handling of such cases, saying that the public’s trust in the legal system was at stake.