There was no issue of the newspaper on March 24, 1969, on account of Pakistan Day. The following extract is from the previous day’s issue.

KARACHI: Barrister Azizullah Shaikh, Principal of S.M. Law College, has disagreed with Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s, chief of Justice Party, suggestion that the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justices of the two provinces be entrusted the offices of the President and Governors respectively during the period elections were held in the country.

In a statement yesterday [March 22], he said the suggestion did not have any force because naked dictatorship has disappeared and “we find only drawing room intrigues of various politicians now going on in the country”.

“At the time of elections, the nation suffers from high political fever and the administration may make certain mistakes about which the politicians may [raise a] hue and cry which will ultimately reflect on the integrity of the Judge President and the Judge Governors. This will affect the judiciary very badly and the people will lose confidence in the heads of the judiciary. I will maintain that [the] judiciary should be independent and in no case [should] Judges be dragged in the political arena....”

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2019