Mukhtaran Mai case: Jamaat-e-Islami advises NGOs to take legal course

Secretary General, Jamaat-e-Islami, Liaquat Baloch, has said the hue and cry of the liberal NGOs over the Supreme Court decision in Mukhtaran Mai case was surprising and incomprehensible for the masses. He said that the general public, human rights bodies as also the media had strongly protested over the wrong done to Mukhtaran Mai treating it as an inhuman act.
However, he said, it was for the courts to give the final verdict in any cases and this decision was made on the basis of the case record and the investigation. Liaquat Baloch said that one could have reservations on a court decision and there was the option of appeal and review on the decision. The attitude of the government and the liberal NGOs in this regard was tantamount to restricting the judiciary's independence, he added.
The JI leader pointed out the SC was hearing some most important cases including Bhutto case reference, the NRO case and the missing persons case and decisions on these were highly important. He expressed the view that the protest on the apex court decision in Mukhtaran Mai case was a prelude to the government reaction expected on the SC decisions in these cases.
However, he said, the people of Pakistan had struggled for the judiciary's independence and rendered huge sacrifices for this cause. If the NGOs believed in the supremacy of law, human rights and independence of the judiciary, they should take the legal course instead of resorting to the culture of protest, he added.