Taking jibes: Nawaz accuses govt of insulting judiciary

PML-N chief says his party believed in supremacy of law and has played a historic role in the restoration of judges.

LAHORE:

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif used the premier’s court appearance on Monday as a springboard to whip up fresh rhetoric against the ruling party.

“The government has been constantly seeking more time [from the apex court]. This is tantamount to insulting the judiciary,” Nawaz told journalists at the residence of actor Muhammad Ali’s widow Zeba.

“The government had promised to restore the judiciary, but in fact wanted the court of Abdul Hameed Dogar to flourish,” he said referring to the controversial chief justice who took oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) of former president Pervez Musharraf. The government is mocking the court and the nation, he added.

The PML-N chief said the judiciary was “working according to the law and the Constitution,” adding that the “country’s situation would have been much better had the government decided to do the same”.

Earlier, Nawaz spoke to a delegation of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) led by its President Yasin Azad. He told them that his party believed in the supremacy of law and has played a historic role in the restoration of judges.

Asking the SCBA to submit proposals for making the appointment of judges more transparent, Nawaz said the PML-N had earlier proposed the SCBA president be an ex-officio member of the Parliamentary Committee for Appointment of Judges. He, however, regretted that the Pakistan Peoples Party shot his suggestion down.

“We believe in the policies of merit and transparency, and decisions will have to be taken in the country’s interest by rising above personal likes and dislikes.”

He also lauded the efforts of the SCBA for organising a conference on May 26 in Islamabad to address the problems faced by Balochistan. On this, Azad told the PML-N chief that the SCBA was organising another conference on September 9 in Quetta over the same issue.

On the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced a grant of Rs50 million for a residential complex of lawyers.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2012.