According to Justice Athar Minallah, Ziaul Haq’s time was the most terrible in our history.

LAHORE (A-News) – Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah has expressed remorse for the judiciary’s past abuse, citing the case of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Speaking at a symposium on animal rights and environmental concerns in Lahore, Justice Minallah said, “It is sad that the court was used for the judicial murder of Bhutto. The era of Zia-ul-Haq was the most awful in our history, with the Supreme Court admitting that a democratically elected prime minister was ousted and killed.”

He also mentioned the horrific conditions under Zia’s dictatorship, including the installation of torture chambers in Lahore’s Shahi Qila, where individuals were jailed and tortured for expressing opposing political beliefs.

Justice Minallah also spoke on the Islamabad High Court’s verdicts on enforced disappearances and prisoners’ rights, recognizing the enormous anguish endured by relatives of the vanished. “As a judge, I can feel the pain of families whose loved ones go missing,” according to him.

Turning his focus to animal rights, he stressed the importance of actual animal protection measures in Pakistan. “People say that if humans aren’t safe, why talk about animal rights? “However, we must take this issue seriously,” he stated.

Justice Minallah also criticized educational narratives, stating, “Our schools frequently teach distorted versions of reality.” What we taught about lions in school was not true to their real life.”