Pak Chief Justice downplays fears over judiciary-executive clash

Islamabad, Jan.29 (ANI) : Down playing fears about the judiciary and the executive being on a collision course, Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has said the country's democratic set-up would be protected at all costs.

Hearing a case challenging the recent promotion of civil servants, Chaudhry said: "We are here to protect parliament and democratic system."

"We have appreciated parliament for not validating unconstitutional and illegal acts of Nov 3, 2007, (when former President General Pervez Musharraf announced emergency and deposed superior court judges)," The Dawn quoted Chaudhry, as saying.

Chaudhry was speaking after government's counsel, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, said that promotions were purely the job of the government and the judiciary had nothing to do with them.

Pirzada had raised fears regarding a clash between the executive and the judiciary.

It is worth mentioning here that in a major reshuffle Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had changed almost the entire bureaucracy, replacing over a dozen federal secretaries and announcing changes in several other ministries by promoting several civil servants to Grade-22.

The bureaucrats, who were not promoted, challenged Gilani's decision in the court of law, pleading massive injustice, rather "corruption", done to them. (ANI)