Rawalpindi (Web Desk): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president and chief organiser Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday said that the judiciary has only ever disqualified elected prime ministers, and never military dictators.
Addressing at lawyer's convention in Rawalpindi, the PML-N leader said that in its 75-year history, Pakistan was under the military rule for nearly 40 years. “Not a single elected PM completed his term in the country. Four dictators came and completed 10 years each, but no court dared to stand up against them,” she said.
“Elected prime ministers were thrown out of office but no court put up a brave face to bring any dictator to justice. Has any dictator been disqualified by a court? No. But elected PMs have been declared disqualified.”
She said it has always been those disqualified prime ministers and people who have pushed dictators out, the judiciary, on the other hand, has "never stopped dictators, only stopped democracy".
Commenting on Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial getting “emotional” during the suo motu case of the Punjab polls delay, Maryam said the CJP "should have also been emotional when a democratically elected prime minister was removed from office for keeping one iqama".
She added hat the CJP should “have also been emotional when PML-N leaders were disqualified, or tortured for their candour and forced to join the PTI”.
“I was in Adiala jail, I was in NAB custody for 57 days, but no reference regarding the matter I was taken in custody for was ever filed in court. Why were you not emotional then,” Maryam questioned.
She inquired why the CJP was "not emotional when his own brother judge’s family was thrown out on the street", she said as she named Justice Qazi Faez Isa. "The whole nation saw his suffering because he was a roadblock for the PTI and Imran Khan, and because he followed the Constitution and law”.
She maintained that a "difference of quality is visible between honest judges and those who favoured the PTI".
Maryam said that the politicians, whom the CJP mentioned in his remarks, went to jail “on orders of [former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General] Faiz Hameed”.
The PM L-N leader said that instead of taunting Shehbaz Sharif and the entire government for going to jail, the CJP could have mentioned that those who went to jail were imprisoned due to fake cases.
She also reminded the number of cases registered against PML-N leaders and the times they appeared before courts.
"But, Imran failed to do the same because he knew he was at fault," Maryam, said, adding that the PTI chief and his facilitators know that the crime has been committed. His facilitators are in the judiciary. These days, a new trend has begun to get bail in 12 cases simultaneously.
Maryam further said that Imran’s “hypocrisy” had come forth, stating that the man who once threw shoes on banners of judges was today talking about the law and Constitution.
“The entire system is trying to bring him in front of the court, but he is resisting. Even when he does come to court it is with a horde of people,” the PML-N leader said.
Addressing the CJP again, Maryam said: “You encouraged the man who violated the Constitution and now he is causing anarchy in the country.”
Maryam said that Imran and “his facilitators” had a plan in store, which she claimed was to be executed by September before the new CJP takes charge.
The PML-N leader likened the SC’s verdict in the Punjab polls case to the “facilitation done by Justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Gen Faiz in 2017”.
Maryam questioned that how can the CJP expect us to accept a decision that even his brother judges are not accepting it?
She said that the CJP excluded the judges who had raised legal reservations and instead brought those judges who favoured him.
The PML-N also questioned why the Constitution, which was used for Punjab, was not being implemented in KP.
Maryan Nawaz said that that elections would take place “on time” and whenever they did, Imran would emerge as the loser.