House of Sharif blasts SC for 'facilitating blue-eyed boy'

Nawaz Sharif rejects verdict, calls for filing reference against top court judges

ISLAMABAD/LONDON:

The House of Sharif on Tuesday cast aspersions on the Supreme Court after it ordered provincial polls in a win for PTI chief Imran Khan despite the government’s reluctance to hold the votes, terming the “controversial bench” as former prime minister’s “facilitator”.

It called for a reference against the judges in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for a “partisan judgment to facilitate one person”.

میں سمجھتا ہوں کہ ان ججز کے خلاف سپریم جوڈیشل کونسل میں ریفرنس دائر کیا جانا چاہیے آج کا فیصلہ انہی کے خلاف چارج شیٹ کا درجہ رکھتا ہے.پنجاب حکومت عمران خان کے سپرد کرنے کیلیے پہلے ایم پی ایز کو ووٹ دینے سے روکا پھر انہیں نااہل بھی کیا.قائد مسلم لیگ ن نوازشریف pic.twitter.com/iCbyDd8U18

— PMLN (@pmln_org) April 4, 2023

PTI chief Imran Khan has been pushing for assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of a campaign to force an early general election that he has waged since being forced from office a year ago after losing a vote of confidence.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Imran’s call for an early general election. His government had backed an election commission delay in the votes in the two provinces to October 8.

Talking to reports in London after the apex court declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone polls in Punjab till October 8 unconstitutional, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said the decision was the result of a "one-man show."

"Supreme Court judges have said that this is a one-man show," Nawaz said in reference to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.

However, he cheered the dissenting judges' notes against the three-member bench hearing the election case as nothing less than an act of “Jihad”.

Also read: PM Shehbaz equates SC poll verdict with Bhutto's 'judicial murder'

Referring to PTI chief Imran Khan, the PML-N chief wondered if everything could be destroyed just to facilitate one person. "This is not a punishment for Nawaz Sharif, but for the people of Pakistan who are suffering and will suffer more due to the supreme court's decision," he warned.

He made it clear that his party will not accept the decision of three judges which was also rejected by other judges of the court.

"I have suffered imprisonment but the real punishment is being given to you through these decisions," he added.

Asked whether or not the PML-N was ready to sacrifice everything now that the party has decided to reject the court's decision, Nawaz said: "I will tell my party not to accept this partisan decision come what may."

‘Blue-eyed boy’

Separately, PML-N Maryam Nawaz also fumed at the apex court’s decision and took to her Twitter to say that the verdict was the last blow of the conspiracy which began by "rewriting the Constitution and presenting the Punjab government on a plate" to the bench’s blue-eyed boy.

The PML-N scion termed the three-member bench as "Khan’s facilitators" and said that this was done so he could be reselected under their presence and supervision.

“This bench has taken responsibility for the work done by [Lt Gen] Faiz [Hamid], [ex-CJP Asif Saeed] Khosa and Saqib Nisar in 2018. A majority of the Supreme Court revolted against this appalling and brazen facilitation and one-man show,” she said.

He pointed out that it was high time the parliament learnt to stop this facilitation using its “constitutional and legal hands”.

She further stated that it is not enough for the federal cabinet to reject the verdict, adding that those who tried to impose the “favourite” by defying the Constitution and law should be brought to the rostrum.