Dr Abdul Wahid Soomro (MNA Pakistan Peoples Party)

He was speaking at a news conference along with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira.

In reply to a question whether the government would submit a written reply in the Supreme Court regarding a report about a possible withdrawal of an executive order that had reinstated superior court judges, Mr Awan said: “The statement of the prime minister should have been accepted on the face of it because his earlier orders for setting the judges free and their reinstatement had been implemented there and then.”

The minister said the institutions where politics was not allowed “should not speak as they are speaking”.

He said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would address the nation on Sunday to explain the government’s point of view on the issue.

Mr Awan said several important cases, including Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan’s writ petition, had been pending for several years. “We support their early hearing.”

The law minister said the Pakistan People’s Party and its governments had been victims of unjust verdicts by the courts in the past and no one else was more aware of the contents of Article 6 of the Constitution.

He said an addition made to the article through the 18th Amendment implied that any judge or other individual giving protection to abrogation of the Constitution would also be treated as an accused.

In reply to a question, Babar Awan said the government would take action against those involved in spreading rumours about withdrawal of the executive order if the correct information was not kept secret.

He said the defamation laws were ineffective and needed to be changed.

The minister said the elements that had ‘broken’ the ‘false’ news on Thursday had predicted the fall of the government in its first month.