KARACHI, Aug 30: Announcing his party’s decision to support Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate retired justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui in the Sept 6 presidential election, Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed has called for reinstatement of all deposed judges, including Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, and restoration of the pre-Nov 3 (2007) judiciary.

Addressing a general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association on Saturday, he said his party wanted a neutral figure to hold the office of the head of state. “Although Justice Siddiqui is the PML-N nominee, we see him as a neutral figure and the best of three in the run for the presidential election,” he told the legal fraternity.

The JI chief paid tribute to the legal fraternity for running a sustained campaign for the supremacy of the Constitution and the independent judiciary, and noted that lawyers had been playing a pivotal role in the movement for the restoration of the pre-PCO judiciary and sustaining pressures from certain quarters.

Maintaining that the country’s vital institutions could not be strengthened in the absence of an independent judiciary and dispensation of justice to the masses, Qazi said that the judiciary could become independent only when Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and all those judges deposed after the promulgation of the Nov 3 PCO were restored.

“Justice Chaudhry was punished for taking suo motu notices in the missing persons cases,” he claimed, alleging that the authorities concerned were now demanding a surety bond of Rs10 million each from the aggrieved families for the so-called “recovery” of the missing persons.

Reiterating his party’s stand that the Constitution does not allow an army chief to proclaim a state of emergency in the country, he argued that General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s Nov 3 proclamation was unconstitutional. He urged the government to revoke the proclamation and all other illegal steps taken by Pervez Musharraf. He also stressed that the former president be punished under the relevant laws in order to ensure that no military officer indulged in such adventures in future.

Criticising the Pakistan People’s Party for reneging on its commitments and pacts, he wondered how one could believe that the PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari would honour his words after becoming a head of state. In this context, he referred to Mr Zardari’s remarks that the Murree declaration and certain other pacts were not like the verses of the holy Quran or Hadith that could not be altered. “A person who cannot honour his words should better stay away from the presidential race,” Qazi remarked.

The JI chief also criticized PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif for violating an agreement with the APMD in London, and recalled that under the agreement his party was bound to boycott the Feb-18 general elections if these were held under Pervez Musharraf. The APDM document also called for formation of an independent election commission and restoration of the pre-Nov3 judiciary as preconditions for the signatories’ participation in the elections.

Qazi said the nation most hold these politicians accountable for breaking their promises.

Referring to the May 12 and April 9 violence in Karachi, Qazi deplored the elected government for failing to conduct an independent inquiry into the incidents and arrest any of those involved in the killings and destruction. He alleged that Muttahida Qaumi Movement alone was responsible for the violence.

Regarding the military operations in the tribal areas, he observed that the armed forces were being used against civilians in Fata, and warned that this could be harmful for the country. “Innocent people are being killed in the tribal areas in order to follow the terms of the so-called war on terror sponsored by the US,” he alleged.

Later, talking to the media, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that the PPP-led coalition was ruling over the country against the wishes of the masses. In reply to a question about launching of an anti-government movement either from the platform of his party or the APDM, he said: “We want to give some time to the government to address the key issues.”

Earlier, KBA leaders appreciated Jamaat-i-Islami’s clear stance and support on the judiciary issue.