Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday said that the judiciary is 50 per cent responsible for the current situation of the country. “The court is 50 per cent responsible for the situation of the country today while other institutions are responsible for the other 50 per cent,” he remarked while addressing the Rawalpindi Bar Association. “For a while now I have been wanting to present myself before the bar for accountability. I wanted to do that because only my bar can hold me accountable and there have been no corruption charges against me to date,” he said. “Whenever I pass a judgment in a crucial case, a group starts campaign claiming that there are corruption references ongoing against me,” he added. “However, I am clean and have thus requested the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to conduct an open trial against me and invite lawyers to see if there is any truth in the corruption allegations. If any corruption charges are proven then I will resign,” he continued. Justice Siddiqui urged lawyers to help decrease crime. “Do not become a facilitator as there is no shortcut for success,” he said. “Today, even the independent media has cowed down,” he lamented. Justice Siddiqui remarked that Pakistan cannot be compared to Europe or America but to India and Bangladesh. He stated that India is on the path to progress because the political process has never been halted there. Published in Daily Times, July 22nd 2018.