The government has had ceaseless control over court verdicts and affairs of the judiciary, said Ali Zahir, deputy leader of the opposition Adhaalath Party.

Zahir said this while speaking at Raajje Television’s ‘Fala-Surukhee’ program on Monday night, adding that it is not something perpetrators make any attempts at hiding.

He continued to say that recent actions of the judiciary blatantly projects this, referring to the state’s delay in sending Jumhooree Party leader Qasim Ibrahim, who was sentenced to a jail sentence, on medical leave.

In this regard, Zahir said it is ‘no secret’ that the Criminal Court would have made statements about the matter had it not been for the executive branch’s influence on the judiciary.

Qasim’s lawyers have responded to said delay by highlighting that the Criminal Court’s verdict imposing the jail sentence had specifically required that he be given adequate opportunity to receive medical treatment.

“Now if the Criminal Court’s verdict had mandated something the government wants happening, we all know that the court would have released more statements on the matter – maybe even higher courts too – and that law enforcement officers will make haste in having it implemented” Zahir said.

Zahir, who as a lawyer has represented several members of the opposing including Qasim himself, then said that the local judiciary is ‘far from independent’ and that the general public has completely lost its trust in local courts.