LAHORE, Jan 5: Former law minister and attorney-general Syed Iqbal Haider on Saturday took exception to what he called baseless rhetoric of President Pervez Musharraf against deposed ‘hero judges’ of the Supreme Court and ‘hero leaders’ of the lawyers community who were being kept under illegal detention.

He said he was utterly shocked by the allegations the president had reiterated against the illegally-removed judges and the detained lawyers while talking to the foreign media a couple of days ago.

Talking to Dawn, Iqbal Haider said it was all the more painful that the president was speaking against those who, being under illegal detention, were unable to defend themselves or give their point of view on the accusations.

“I condemn this attitude of the president,” he said.

He said Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, Justices Khalil Ramday, Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Tasaddaq Husain Jilani and Shakirullah Jan had not been allowed even to offer Eid prayers. Their houses had been barricaded with barbed wire.

He said all phones of Justice Chaudhry’s residence had been cut off and cell phones jammed. As a result, the family had no contact with anyone. A special child of Justice Chaudhry was not getting medical care he needed everyday.

Iqbal Haider said he was at a loss to understand why the United States was not speaking about the independence of the judiciary, restoration of the deposed judges and the supremacy of the rule of law. “I can’t swallow this contradiction.”

Maintaining that success of the parliamentary system depends on an independent judiciary, the former law minister said since judges were not independent at all, the fate of the system was also at stake.

He dismissed as baseless the president’s allegation that Justice Chaudhry had released several terrorists. He said not a single terrorist had been set free by Justice Chaudhry during his tenure.

On the contrary, he alleged that Gen Musharraf had been releasing the ‘most dreadful and ferocious’ terrorists of Maulana Fazlullah who had been beheading women. Also, he said, Gen Musharraf had been releasing Taliban in South and North Waziristan under agreement with the Taliban leadership. He alleged that Gen Musharraf had also been setting free terrorists who confronted the soldiers of the Pakistan army.

Rejecting the president’s allegation that Justice Chaudhry had tried to sabotage the establishment of a sustainable democracy, the former attorney-general said as a matter of fact Justice Chaudhry was not member of the bench that was hearing the issue of Gen Musharraf’s eligibility for a second term as president. Likewise, he pointed out, he was not a member of the bench that had restored him as the chief justice of Pakistan, throwing out the presidential reference against him.

Iqbal Haider said to set the record right, he would also like to point out that Justice Chaudhry had nothing to do with the bench that had given some relief to the Red Mosque clerics. In fact, he said, the judges who had given the relief were the ones who were among the first to be administered oath under the PCO.

As for Aitzaz Ahsan, he said, he had committed no offence by expressing his desire to offer Eid prayers with Justice Chaudhry. Recalling that the Supreme Court Bar president had not led any protest rally, Iqbal Haider said Aitzaz had been intercepted when he was going to Islamabad and was dragged out of his vehicle in a very derogatory manner. In spite of all this, he said, President Musharraf had the cheek to place Justice Chaudhry and his counsel, Aitzaz, under house arrest.

He said while Gen Musharraf was opposed to protests by civil society, he had failed to take adequate security measures for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated on Dec 27.

Regrettably, he said, two former prime ministers had been targeted the same day — the other being Nawaz Sharif.

He said while Gen Musharraf had been the absolute ruler for the past eight years, he had failed to implement his much talked out seven-point agenda. In fact, he alleged, Musharraf’s policies had led to an unprecedented escalation in terrorist activities across the country.

He said gas and electricity were not available to the people, the prices of all eatables had gone out of the reach of the common man and the crime rate had seen an unprecedented increase.

The former minister said President Musharraf could restore the deposed judges by withdrawing his ‘illegal executive orders’ through which they had been removed from service. “When an act is not in accordance with the Constitution, it can easily be set aside by an executive order.”

He sought immediate release of all judges and lawyers under detention. He said lawyers’ representatives Aitzaz Ahsan, Tariq Mahmood, Ali Ahmad Kurd and others were being kept under detention without any justification.

Also, he said, President Musharraf should step down in the larger national interest, and a national government should hold free and fair elections. He said the Election Commission should be reconstituted in consultation with all political parties.

He alleged that Musharraf had failed to convert Pakistan into a liberal, moderate and tolerant society. On the contrary, the society had been brutalised. He said the international media was saying that Pakistan was the most dangerous country in the world which was a “tribute” to the policies of Gen Musharraf.