The ruling coalition – the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – on Monday staged a sit-in outside the Supreme Court building as it demanded resignation of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial for allegedly giving preferential treatment to former prime minister Imran Khan.
The ruling alliance had announced staging the sit-in right outside the top court after a three-judge bench led by CJP Bandial on May 11 declared Imran Khan’s arrest from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) illegal and directed his immediate release.
A day earlier, the federal government had tried to persuade PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to change the venue of the protest citing security concerns but Fazl, who heads his eponymous faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), had declined the request.
رکاوٹیں ہٹا کر عوام کا جم غفیر سپریم کورٹ کی جانب روانہ#مولانا_آرہا_ہے pic.twitter.com/T95lNXs1nj
— Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan (@juipakofficial) May 15, 2023
On Monday morning, the PDM convoys from across the country reached Islamabad's Constitution Avenue. After scaling a security gate near Serena Hotel, the JUI-F workers came in front of the Supreme Court and pushed back the personnel of the Frontier Constabulary deployed on security duty.
Read PDM sit-in: PML-N, PPP opt for different plans
The main container from which the PDM leaders – including Fazl, Maryam Nawaz, Akhtar Mengal and Mian Iftikhar Hussain – addressed the participants was placed right outside the Supreme Court building.
Interestingly, the PDM government had imposed Section 144 in the federal capital last week to prohibit public gatherings in the wake of Imran’s arrest on May 9. The top leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which is part of the ruling coalition, was conspicuous by its absence.
Addressing the participants, Fazl said “biased decisions” of the courts are not acceptable.
“All institutions should fulfill their responsibilities and work within their constitutional limits,” he said, warning the judiciary against getting involved in politics. Addressing CJP Bandial, Fazl said he should come out of the Supreme Court building if he wants to do politics.
“The decision will now be made by the people because biased judges have compromised their integrity. Humiliation of parliament and people will not be allowed by the judges sitting in the apex court.”
The PDM chief also vowed to defend Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif if the court issues a verdict against his government. The CJP, he claimed, gave protection to “a terrorist” in his court.
The Maulana chided the CJP by saying that the Constitution that the judges referred to and interpreted time and again was crafted by politicians, saying only parliament has the right to make and amend laws and no one else has that power, including the judiciary.
“Sacrificing a few judges for the restoration of the judiciary's dignity won’t matter,” he said. In his speech, Fazl also defended the incumbent army chief.
Prior to the Maulana, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz claimed that Pakistan was destroyed as a result of verdicts issued by judges. Judges, she said, have been legitimizing martial laws in the past instead of blocking dictators’ way.
Referring to the CJP’s remarks that he was “pleased to see” Imran the other day in the courtroom, the PML-N leader asked the CJP if he was happy to see a “sea of public” outside the Supreme Court.
She demanded that the CJP should resign for supporting Imran. “The salaries and allowances given to the CJP should also be returned.”
Maryam said the PDM did not want to protest outside the SC building but it is a fact that both the betterment and the destruction of Pakistan depends on the decisions taken in the SC building.
She said the powerful should have been brought to justice by the Supreme Court as it is the responsibility of the apex court to strengthen democracy. However, she said, the “facilitators” in the SC building are busy compromising justice.
She recalled that an elected-premier—Nawaz Sharif—was called “Sicilian mafia and godfather” by people sitting inside the apex court but when the accused of Rs60 billion corruption case – Imran Khan – was presented in the court, the CJP welcomed him.
Maryam said after Imran’s arrest, only a handful of people came out to protest but those who attacked security institutions were "trained miscreants of the PTI".
Maryam said Imran Khan had specified his targets and given instructions to his followers to attack the army installations in case he was arrested.
"They could have attacked any government institution that came in their way… they refrained from doing so because their ultimate goal was to target Jinnah House [the residence of the Corps Commander Lahore]."
She also highlighted the damage caused by Imran's supporters during recent protests, which she claimed resulted in the destruction of important government buildings and institutions.
"GHQ [General Headquarters] was first attacked by the Taliban and then by the PTI. The fighter jets which downed enemy planes were set on fire by Bandial's darling Imran. They even set on fire the memorials of the martyrs."
She also called for holding “the previous establishment” accountable, stating that those who acted like facilitators of Imran should be held responsible.
Read More PDM stands firm on SC protest despite govt plea for relocation
Maryam also criticised Imran Khan's political history, pointing out his alleged involvement in terrorism and violence, including attacks on the PTV building in 2014. She also criticized the court for "murdering the Constitution", leading to a rebellion within the Supreme Court itself.
In his address, Balochistan National Party chief Akhtar Mengal said Islamabad has a Constitution Avenue but it lacks a Justice Avenue because justice is only available to the blue-eyed people.
Mengal said those countries were wiped out from the face of the earth where injustice prevailed. He recalled that some “princes” were rescued within an hour by the judges while his elders were jailed for years without even committing any crime.
Awami National Party’s Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the Supreme Court rewrote the Constitution on the issue of election of the chief minister in the Punjab Assembly last year, saying PML-N would have been in power had that decision not come by the CJP.
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