Daily Times

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday took exception to remarks made by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial during the Supreme Court hearing on the postponement of polls in Punjab. For the past week, the top court has been hearing the PTI’s petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone polls to the Punjab Assembly till October 8. Earlier, the court reserved its verdict in the case. During the hearing conducted on March 31, the CJP had made the following remarks: “Today, when you go to parliament, you find people addressing the parliament who were till yesterday in captivity, imprisoned, declared traitors. They are now talking over there, and being respected because they are representatives of the people.” Addressing the CJP’s remarks on the floor of the National Assembly, the premier said that Pakistan’s history was rife with examples of individuals serving prison sentences for having a particular stance or point of view.

“To serve a prison sentence in a criminal case in a just society at the hands of a fair judge is a matter of dishonour,” he said.

However, the PTI government headed by Imran Khan was consumed with putting opposition leaders behind bars, Shehbaz said, adding that he was also among the politicians who were jailed during the previous government.

“Imran sent me to jail not once, but twice. He was fully prepared to send me to jail for a third time.”

The prime minister also recounted the various legal proceedings he had to face during the PTI government’s tenure. He also noted that he was granted bail by different courts.

“It is God’s grace that I was released on merit and that I am here today. My crime was that I […] fully raised my voice against the government’s wrongdoings. But this was not acceptable to Imran who considered us a thorn in his side,” the premier said.

Referring to the CJP’s remarks, PM Shehbaz asked: “Is it a crime that after having successfully fought my case in the high courts, a decision is then made based on merit? Is this a matter of respect and pride or shame? […] is it a matter of shame or respect that I am present in this House today and can speak with my head held high?”

PM Shehbaz said that the CJP had stated that those who had served prison terms in the past were now making speeches in parliament but questioned if he would say anything about the “baseless cases” against the former opposition.

“I want to ask the chief justice, that a judge against whom there have been serious allegations, what message do you want to send to the nation by having him sit alongside you?”

The premier said that lawmakers who had secured bail in “baseless cases” had the right to represent the aspirations of the people who had elected them.

“It is not a crime that we have come here after serving prison sentences and obtaining bail on merit. But you have a person, against whom there have been serious allegations of corruption, sitting alongside you.”

The prime minister said that as an elected representative, he would first look at himself before saying anything, adding that this principle “applies to everyone.”

Meanwhile, Shehbaz Sharif while rubbishing the social media propaganda, categorically ruled out any possibility of the relationship between Pakistan and Israel until the people of Palestine get their due right of a separate homeland.

Addressing the parliamentary party meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he resolved that Pakistan would not deviate from its principled position of having no ties with Israel until the Palestinians get their legitimate right.

He was referring to the social media posts mentioning any trade activity by a Pakistani Jew with Israel.

“There is not even mention of that. This is just baseless. An individual Jew has traded some goods. The government has nothing to do with that,” he commented.

Behind such propaganda were the people who opposed a Muslim candidate of London Mayorship and instead supported the Jewish candidate, he added.

The prime minister told the PML-N parliamentarians that before assuming the government, he had not imagined the severity of the situation in form of a destroyed economy and strained foreign relations with brotherly countries, including China and Saudi Arabia.

He said under PML-N Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and with the cooperation of the allied parties, the government was making all-out efforts to cope with the challenges. He said the government had fulfilled all the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the previous regime had violated the commitments with the global financial institution.

He said recently Pakistan was hit by the worst flood and the Federal Government alone had spent Rs100 billion to support the suffering people.

The prime minister recalled that during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif till 2017, the country was progressing with the sugar price at Rs52 and the dollar rate at Rs100.

He said during its four-year tenure, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government took loans even more than those taken during the 70-year history.