Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. – File Photo

KARACHI: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Saturday said that PCO judges had been manipulated by rulers to perpetuate their personal interests, DawnNews reported.

Speaking to a gathering of lawyers on their enrollment with the apex court at its Karachi registry, he said judges, who took oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order, had been declared illegal.

Oaths taken by PCO judges had harmed the judiciary in the past as well, said Justice Chaudhry.

The chief justice said that the apex court had always worked under its constitutional boundaries.

In the past, rulers have made attempts to confiscate the Supreme Court’s constitutional position, the chief justice said, adding that the apex court had fulfilled its constitutional obligations by declaring the actions of Nov 3, 2007 illegal.