Emphasising that Pakistan is being destroyed in a systematic manner, the country's Supreme Court Justice Qazi Feez Isa lashed out at the government over the state of democracy, media freedom and governance.
During the hearing on a matter related to local government election, the Supreme Court said Punjab province's government had "killed" democracy by dissolving the local government before the expiry of its term, Geo News reported.
In 2019, the Punjab province government dissolved the local bodies system.
Justice Isa inquired why that was done. "Local governments (LG) were dissolved in the martial law era, but it is unheard of in a democracy," the judge said.
He asked if Punjab was in the mood to abolish the LG system altogether. To this, the Punjab additional advocate-general said a new law had been made for local governments in the province.
By dissolving the local government, the Punjab government has clearly violated the Constitution, Justice Isa said, adding that, like this, Punjab can continue dissolving local governments till a government of its choice comes along.
If democracy is lost, half the country will be gone, he warned. "ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan) says there will be huge cost of Rs 18 billion on local bodies elections," Justice Isa remarked. "Yet huge development funds are being released for politicians."
The senior judge also made strong statements over the state of media freedom in Pakistan.
He said he won't shy away from saying that the media is not free and that it is being controlled, with real journalists being thrown out of the country.
Pakistan, he said, is being destroyed in a systematic manner. He said when media is destroyed, a country is destroyed.
"Tell me. Is media free in Pakistan?" Justice Isa asked Attorney-General Khalid Javed Khan.
( With inputs from ANI )
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