LAHORE: Raising the ante in the criticism of the judiciary, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday criticized the Supreme Court for questioning the performance of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led provincial government in Punjab. In a sharp reaction to Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar’s remarks about the Punjab government, the minister turned his guns on the judiciary. He said in a tweet: “Hon CJ! It is for the people of Punjab to judge performance in the coming elections.” “How can you make such statements just before general election? Is judiciary a political party? IK or AZ can make such statements. Politicization of judiciary will be our collective loss,” he continued. His response came in the wake of the chief justice hearing a number of cases of public interest at the apex court’s Lahore registry. Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam also tweeted a response to the CJP’s comment. “Make your own inferences,” she wrote. Published in Daily Times, March 11th 2018.