Maryam seeks to resurrect old narrative

SARGODHA/LAHORE:

Maryam Nawaz fired a broadside against Imran Khan, Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed besides four serving and former judges of the Supreme Court in an address to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers convention on Thursday.

In a fiery speech in Sargodha, the chief organiser and senior vice president of the PML-N trained all guns at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman, saying that Imran was thrown into the garbage bin but the judges were picking him up.

“A group of five people was involved in the conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif. This group of five is responsible for this plight of Pakistan,” she said, as a giant screen behind her showed five pictures.

“Its leader was Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed. Among them were Justice Mazahir Naqvi, Justice Ijazul Hassan, [former chief justice] Saqib Nisar and [justice (retd)] Azmat Saeed,” she said, mentioning the five names.

Maryam Nawaz said when the establishment realised that Imran was a Fitna [mischief] and Intishar [chaos] and washed their hands of him, these judges took upon themselves not only to save him but to pave the way for his return to power also.

“These judges were remnants of Gen (retd) Hameed. Hameed, she continued, was not doing it to save Imran but to save his own skin. “He transferred billions of rupees out of the country. He was aspiring to become the army chief.”

She said that Gen (retd) Hameed picked Imran after realising that Nawaz Sharif would not be his pawn. She told the crowd that Gen (retd) Hameed had once said that Nawaz had outgrown his stature, so he needed to be cut to size.

The PML-N leader raised questions about the suo motu notice on the matter of elections to the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. She said that not only justice should be done but it should be seen to be done.

She pointed out that those two judges were also in the nine-member bench formed over the issue of provincial assembly elections. “This bench, however, does not include the two most upright right and senior-most judges of the Supreme Court,” she continued.

When a common man is aware of the “bench fixing”, she asked, why did Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial not know. “Inclusion of the two controversial judges has shocked everyone, even the bar councils expressed their reservations.”

She called for forming an impartial bench of the apex court for the suo motu proceedings on the elections issue. “Your responsibility is to make non-controversial bench. Are you fulfilling that responsibility?” she asked.

While referring to the Lahore High Court (LHC) proceedings in which Imran was ordered to come to the court for protective bail, earlier this week, she spoke of “wrong impression” in the minds of the people about the judiciary.

“If the courts wait for a person for four days, then the minds of the people will get a wrong impression,” she said. “We respect the judiciary, we want respect for the judiciary, but why are the people get such an impression, it should be removed,” she added.

Referring to the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) transfer case, Maryam charged that justices Ijazul Ahsan and Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi restored him to protect Imran Khan, adding that in the middle of the case, they moved to elections in Punjab and K-P.

Referring to leaks of the conversation between the CCPO and PTI leader Yasmin Rashid, she said that the “reality is now before the people”. Justice Ahsan, she added, had been on every bench that heard the cases against Nawaz Sharif.

“The audio recording of the judges has come out, if there is no suo motu action on it, then it will lessen the respect for the judiciary and we do not want that,” the PML-N leader told a charged crowd.

Maryam in her advice to Imran said that the PTI chief should know that the establishment that brought him to power was gone and his facilitators in judiciary would be of no use. She added she would expose them not matter what the cost.

The PML-N leader said that people were fed-up of listening to the conspiracy mantra of the PTI chief. She added that the actual conspiracy was hatched against PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

She urged PML-N President and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ignore these people. She assured that when Nawaz Sharif returned to power, Pakistan would take off again on path to progress.

She held Imran responsible for the country’s current situation and stressed that the solution to the problem was Nawaz Sharif. “Without Mian Nawaz Sharif, the situation cannot improve. People must prepare, Nawaz Sharif will come to Pakistan very soon.”

She recalled that during the previous tenures of Nawaz Sharif in the 1990s, Pakistan was on path to becoming an Asian Tiger. “Nawaz Sharif is the only solution to the problems Pakistan is currently facing.”

Referring to the joining of the PTI by former Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, she said that the person, whom Imran once branded as the “biggest robber of the Punjab”, had now been made the president of the PTI.

“And that person who claimed that establishment kept changing his [Imran’s] nappies is now in one party. It seems that it is now Pervez Elahi’s turn to change his nappies,” the PML-N chief organiser added.

She also mocked the ‘Jail Bharo movement’ of the PTI chief, saying that barely 60 people responded to his call and courted arrest. Still, she added that the Imran himself was hiding inside a hole, while asking people to go to jail.

“Jail for the people, and bail for your ownself,” she took a jibe at Imran. “The person, who removed air-conditioner from the jail cell where Nawaz Sharif was lodged, is in hiding. But at that time, Nawaz Sharif did not use workers as shield,” she added.

Addressing the convention, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that PML-N had started the election campaign under the leadership of Maryam Nawaz. “The PML-N will form its own government by defeating the opposition in Punjab,” he said.

The PML-N had never been afraid of going to the people, he said, adding: “elections for all the assemblies should hold together. Elections should be fair and transparent.