SWABI, March 18: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Sunday that the reference sent to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was purely a judicial issue and the opposition parties should avoid exploiting it for political gains.

Speaking at a public meeting at the Swabi Cricket Stadium, he said: “The reference against Mr Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is purely a constitutional matter and the opposition should not exploit it to gain political mileage,” he said.

“We would not tolerate any meddling in the judicial affairs by anyone,” he said.

The prime minister said that complaints received against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had been sent to the SJC by the president, which was his constitutional duty.

“Now whatever decision is taken by the SJC, it would be acceptable to the government,” he said.

“Some elements are saying that the government has mishandled the issue but the reality is totally opposite. The government considers this particular issue as purely a constitutional matter,” he said.

The prime minister expressed the hope that the government would successfully face the crisis and those who wanted to mislead the people by exploiting the issue would suffer defeat. He said there were no restrictions on the movement of the Chief Justice and anyone could meet him.

He said the role of the judiciary was extremely vital for the state and it had been rightly considered as one of the main pillars of the state. He said anyone who wanted to harm Pakistan would be dealt with sternly and no one would be allowed to use the sacred name of Islam for their own vested interests.

The prime minister announced Rs640 million for development projects in the district. He said Rs540 million would be spent on development of various roads and the remaining Rs100 million would be at the disposal of the district nazim.

“We want this region to be developed and in order to boost literacy rate a university would also be established in the district,” he announced.

Later, he inaugurated the Sui gas supply project for the area.