October 20, 2008	Monday	Shawwal 20, 1429

KARACHI, Oct 19: The Jamaat-i-Islami, Sindh, has said that the warm welcome accorded to deposed chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudary in Hyderabad has proved that the masses want restoration of independent judiciary and reinstatement of all deposed judges.

JI Sindh Amir Assadullah Bhutto in a statement issued here on Sunday urged the government to prove itself democratic by doing away with all the decisions taken by “a single man”. He called for reinstatement of the deposed chief justice and demanded measures to bring an end to inflation.

Maulana Bhutto also called for an end to foreign interference in Pakistan’s affairs, and urged the government to formulate an independent foreign policy in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Pakistan.

He stressed that in the absence of an independent judiciary and ensuring the state’s sovereignty, people could not get their due rights, nor could the country become prosperous.

He was of the view that the bold stance taken by Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and the sustained struggle by civil society organizations and APDM had weakened former president Pervez Musharraf and forced him to introduce the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to prolong his rule. He regretted that the incumbent government that came to power by virtue of the NRO was pursuing the same “anti-people policies” of the former president.—PPI