Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s press conference in response to the judicial commission's report on Quetta attack was "tantamount to attack on Supreme Court of Pakistan".

Talking to reporters outside Bani Gala residence of PTI chief Imran Khan, following a meeting of PTI’s parliamentary committee, Qureshi said the issue of Panama Papers leaks and Nisar’s reponse to the judicial commission's report were discussed in the party meeting.

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Nisar's remarks contempt of court?

Qureshi said that the report was compiled by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, who was assigned the task by a three member-bench of the apex court. He added that the judge filed the 110-page report after conducting investigations over a span of 54 days.

"The government tried its level best to keep the report off the record but as everyone knows, Justice Qazi Faiz Esa is a man of principles," he said.

He said that Justice Esa presented the reported after enough deliberation but Nisar said that he would challenge the report and that the report is ‘unilateral’. Qureshi said that the statements of Nisar could fall into the category of contempt of court.

He added that it would not be strange, if the top court takes a sou moto notice against Nisar's statements.

'Controversial meeting'

Commenting on Nisar’s clarification regarding his meeting with ASWJ leader Ahmed Ludhianvi, where the interior minister had said he wasn’t told that Ludhianvi was also among the participants of the meeting, Qureshi pointed that “how it was possible for Ludhianvi to attend the meeting when his name was not on the list of participants?”

“Who permitted him [Ludhianvi] to attend the meeting? How a member of a banned outfit managed to enter into the office of interior ministry?”

The PTI leader went on to say that a public meeting was held by Shuhda Foundation in Islamabad and various leaders addressed the gathering, however, the minister claimed that they did not issue permission for the event.

Qureshi again raised the question that how thousands of people managed to enter Islamabad when the Section 144 was already imposed.

Fate of military courts

Talking about the military courts, he said that validity of the military courts, established under the 21st Constitutional Amendment passed by parliament to on January 21 to engage an extra ordinary challenge, is going to expire shortly.

“Who will handle terrorists if the military courts become unfounded? The government’s policy in this regard is unclear and the PTI wants an explanation on the matter,” Qureshi questioned.

He recalled that at the time when 21st Amendment was being passed, the government had committed to bring reforms in the criminal judicial system within two years so as to avoid military courts in future.