KOHAT, May 20: Former law minister Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani has said that the reference against the chief justice of Pakistan is not an issue between the judiciary and a general, but the institution of judiciary is at stake, on which the people of the country have pinned their hopes.

Talking to Dawn here on Sunday, Mr Gilani the issue was of prime public importance because Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had dealt with more than 6,000 cases relating to poor people and taken suo motu notice in many important instances.

He said that in 1989 former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had cancelled the elevation of several judges because the constitution did not allow the president to elevate judges when their was no elected prime minister, but the government later withdrew the notification.

“There is no way out for the general but to withdraw the reference in the best interest of the country,” he said. “However, there is nothing like national interest for the military when it is in power,” he said.

He said the chief justice had become unpredictable for the army rulers, which had jeopardised their plans for the future.

He said that after the withdrawal of the reference, the supreme court could re-instate the judges who had resigned in protest.