May 07, 2007	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1428

QUETTA, May 6: Leader of the Opposition in the Balochistan Assembly Kachkol Ali Baloch has said that the historical welcome accorded to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry from Islamabad to Lahore is a verdict of the people in favour of supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law.

In a statement issued on Sunday, he said that the support for the chief justice proved that the civil society was with him in his struggle against dictatorship.

Mr Baloch said that in the 60-year history of the country’s judiciary the present chief justice was the first adjudicator who refused to bow to a dictator’s whims.

The opposition leader said the chief justice’s firmness was not for the sake of his post, but to protect the fundamental rights of citizens, independence of judiciary, supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law.

Praising the chief justice for saving the image of state’s important pillar, he lauded the lawyers’ role for mobilising nationwide movement in support of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry for the cause of restoring people’s confidence in the judiciary.

He said the government should realise the ground realities to withdraw the biased presidential reference against the CJ.