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Supreme Court’s (SC) Justice Athar Minallah has slammed the state over its alleged involvement in politics, saying that “all institutions are after political opponents”.

During the hearing of a murder accused’s pre-arrest bail application, the apex court judge made strong observations on the unresolved murders of three former prime ministers, and the state of political accountability in the country.

“All institutions are after political opponents,” Justice Minallah said, adding that the murder of an elected premier was acknowledged after four decades.

“What can be a bigger crime than the assassination of a prime minister?” he asked.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandohkel also questioned the lack of accountability, asking what happened to the cases pertaining to the murders of former chief executives of the country. “Someone should have been held responsible and punished.”

He also noted widespread public mistrust of state institutions. “People want the Supreme Court to do all the work,” he remarked and pointed out the stark contrast in investigations across provinces.

“Compared to Sindh and Punjab, investigation in Balochistan is extremely poor. Even the senior-most judge in the province was killed and no one found anything.”

Justice Malik Shahzad raised concerns over the unpredictability of any prime minister’s tenure, saying that a prime minister was in the PM House one day and in jail the next.

“No one knows how long they will remain PM,” he said, questioning what could a common man expect in a country where even elected premiers met such fate.

The bench also expressed dismay over the political climate, saying that as long as state institutions remained involved in political engineering, the situation would prevail. Justice Minallah suggested that if the Constitution had been followed, the current situation could have been avoided.

“These cases have been pending in the Supreme Court since 2017, while the state is busy toppling and installing governments,” Justice Minallah said, highlighting the continuous delays in addressing high-profile cases.

He also expressed concern over political polarisation and the lack of institutional action on vital issues.

During the course of proceedings, the SC ordered the arrest of the accused, Ishaq, and directed that he be handed over to jail authorities.

The bench also emphasised the need for transparency and efficiency in handling of such cases, saying that the public’s trust in the legal system was at stake.

A Pakistani-origin  journalist on December 18 asked US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller for his comment on the recent increase in the salaries of Punjab assembly members and ministers.

Matthew Miller declined to comment on the development, saying: “We understand that the appropriate salary of government officials in Pakistan is a question for the people of Pakistan and the government of Pakistan, which the United States does not have to answer. We generally do not comment on the salary of government officials anywhere in the world. Of course, this will be our policy for Pakistan as well.”

On December 16, the Punjab Assembly approved a bill that sought to increase the salaries of its members exponentially. Effective January 1, the monthly pay for each Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) will rise to Rs400,000 from Rs76,000, according to Geo News.

The Punjab Revision of Salaries of Public Representatives 2024 bill was passed with a majority in a Monday Session, with Opposition leader, Ahmad Khan Bachar, raising objections over the bill.

However, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan defended the bill, calling it a step in the right direction as citizens suffer from high inflation.

“The perks, including salaries and allowances of the speaker, deputy speaker, MPAs, parliamentary secretaries, advisors, special assistants and ministers are governed by their respective laws, and every time a revision in their perks is needed, relevant laws were required to be amended by the Assembly,” the bill states. 

The bill also proposed the increase of Provincial Assembly Speaker’s salary from Rs125,000 to Rs950,000.

As per the proposal, the salary of the deputy speaker will jump to Rs800,000 from Rs120,000; parliamentary secretary from Rs83,000 to Rs451,000; adviser to the CM from Rs100,000 to Rs665,000; special assistant to the CM from Rs100,000 to Rs665,000.

The journalist, in his question to the US State Department, mentioned: “Before coming to this briefing, a colleague told me that the salaries of ministers in Pakistan had been increased by 900 percent. Just a month ago, I asked the Finance Minister of Pakistan in Washington, DC that in a country where there is so much poverty, how can they come to America while staying in big hotels, with huge delegations and beg for money with a smile?”

Miller’s response remained curt: “United States does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including decisions on ministerial salaries, and that it is the responsibility of the Pakistani government to address such concerns.”