October 09, 2007	Tuesday	Ramazan 26, 1428

LAHORE, Oct 8: PPP Information Secretary Sherry Rehman has urged the Supreme Court to take a suo motu notice of the remarks Federal Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid reportedly made on the likely judgment on petitions about the eligibility of President Musharraf to go for another term and the competence of the existing assemblies to elect a new president.

“Threatening the country with martial law based on a non-favourable verdict to any one party amounts to an open challenge to the court itself,” she said in a statement on Monday.

The apex court is due to resume hearing of the petitions on Oct 17, and it is not clear how long will it take to decide them.

Some constitutional experts are of the view that the petitions are based on very strong arguments and the final judgment can go against Gen Musharraf.

It was in the light of such assessments that Shaikh Rashid said martial law could still not be ruled out.

Referring to the statement, the PPP information secretary said: “This is both a mark of extreme desperation and irresponsibility. The country needs stability not power jockeying.” —Political Correspondent