Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday lashed out at the Rangers paramilitary force for barring PML-N leaders, lawyers and supporters of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif from entering the accountability court in Islamabad where the former prime minister has appeared for a hearing into graft cases against him.
He said courts are "open spaces" which supporters and lawyers of the defendant could enter.
The minister said it was only during martial law governments that closed trials were conducted, adding that trials held in democracies are "transparent".
Read more: Nawaz appears before accountability court
He said the Islamabad chief commissioner had decided on the names of media personnel and PML-N leaders and supporters who would be allowed to enter the court on Monday. However, he said, the commissioner informed him this morning that "Rangers have suddenly appeared and taken over this place".
He said the Rangers are bound to work under the civil administration and announced that an inquiry would be held to ascertain "who challenged the writ of the state".
"I cannot be a puppet interior minister," he said.
