KARACHI, Jan 15: Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jahangir said on Tuesday that the Supreme Court order for the arrest of the prime minister was not merely a coincidence but part of a ‘political conspiracy’.

“Tools of the establishment have now stood exposed,” she said at a hurriedly called press conference, along with presidents of the Sindh High Court and Karachi bar associations, at the Karachi Press Club.

Without naming anyone, Ms Jahangir said the so-called protagonists of democracy now seemed desperate to derail the democratic system in the country. “Democracy can’t prevail without political parties.”

She urged political forces to come forward and play their role in safeguarding democracy. She said that if a crowd of 50,000 people was left to impose their decisions today then a crowd of 200,000 or so would follow the same course tomorrow. She said Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march and the apex court’s order did not appear to be a mere coincidence. “It is pre-planned.”