MANSEHRA, Nov 9: Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan, a deposed judge of the Peshawar High Court, has claimed that he and all other judges of the superior courts who did not take the oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) are still judges of their respective courts.

“Prior to the declaration of state of emergency in the country, a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court gave a verdict against the imposition of emergency and restricted the judges of the superior courts from taking the oath under the PCO,” he said.

Talking to Dawn here on Friday, Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan said: “The imposition of the state of emergency is against the law and the Constitution as the chief of army staff cannot impose emergency.”

He deplored the confinement of the deposed chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other judges, adding: “It is illegal and unethical as the judges of the superior courts are not ordinary people... (T)hey are the pride of the country and the government should immediately end their confinement as they are still in the office.”

Justice Khan, who was appointed as head of the inquiry commission in the manhandling case involving the chief justice, said he was pressurised by the establishment in order to get high-ranking officials of the Islamabad Police and its administration off the hook.

“Following the inquiry, I got myself ready to face any consequences. And it happened, but justice completes its course any way.”

In response to the government’s allegation against the judiciary and reasons for the imposition of emergency, Mr Ijaz said, “If a terrorist is produced before the court it does not mean that he is a terrorist until solid evidence is placed before the court to prove that the accused is a terrorist in the real sense.”