LAHORE, May 21: The Awami National Party, an ally of the PPP and the PML-N, has opposed the Punjab government’s decision to accord Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry protocol of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) during his upcoming visits to various cities, saying it amounts to politicising the former CJP and portraying him as the favourite of a particular party.

“The decision neither goes in favour of the judiciary nor the lawyers, who are carrying on a struggle for the restoration of sacked judges,” party’s secretary-general Ehsan Wyne said while talking to Dawn on Wednesday.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan had announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the PML-N recognised Justice Chaudhry as the legitimate CJP, and the Punjab government being led by it would give him the official protocol he was entitled to.

He said the ANP supported the call for the reinstatement of judges deposed under the Nov 3 Provisional Constitution Order, but would not like to achieve the target through a strategy that had the potential to derail the democratic process.

Wyne said all political parties must bear in mind that the army was still in power and it had not decided to leave politics to politicians. The National Security Council, he said, was still there and withdrawal of some retired military officials from various civil departments did not mean that the elected representatives had got back all powers.

He said the army had given due respect even to those generals who were allegedly responsible for the dismemberment of the country or overthrowing political systems. And since General Musharraf had led the institution of the army for nine consecutive years before stepping down, nobody should underestimate his position.

“If any party tried to run the country according to its whims, the situation could be much more dangerous than it was in 1971,” the ANP leader warned.

He said though the United States was opposing talks between the government and militants for the restoration of peace in tribal areas, the ANP-led set-up would not change its policy. He said the ANP being the ruling party knew better how to restore peace.

Wyne said the NWFP government would not like to kill innocent people to please the United States. He pointed out that merciless killings had not helped restore peace to Iraq and Afghanistan and could not be expected to bring normalcy to tribal areas of Pakistan.