GUJRANWALA, March 15: President Pervez Musharraf has said that the government will accept the verdict of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on the reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Speaking at a public meeting at Jinnah Stadium here on Thursday, he said that once the decision was announced, he would address the nation on television to take it into confidence.

Gen Musharraf said had faith that the SJC would do justice in the ‘purely constitutional and judicial matter’. “But whatever it decides will be acceptable to me,” he said, adding that he could not speak more on the reference since it was a sub judice matter.

He said he would expose the protesters’ ‘hollowness’ after the SJC decision.

He claimed that there were 4,000 lawyers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi but not more than 150 had protested. The number of lawyers in Lahore was 13,000 but only 250 took to The Mall. “The remaining lawyers are with the government,” he said.

He said the government was not involved in the case of ‘missing’ people. “They are being engaged by Jihadi organisations.”

“Elections of National and provincial assemblies will be held by the end of this year,” the president said according to APP.