ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday lauded the Supreme Court judges for their historic verdict in a case on the election of chief minister Punjab for standing firm and upholding the constitution and law against all manner of threats and abuse.
Minutes after the apex court announced its verdict in a case pertaining to the election of chief minister Punjab, the PTI chief took to Twitter, and said: “I appreciate our SC [Supreme Court] judges for standing firm & upholding the Constitution & law, against all manner of threats & abuse”.
The PTI chief and the former prime minister was all praise for the legal team of his party led by Barrister Ali Zafar.
He also thanked the people of Punjab for “coming out in an unprecedented number in July 17 Punjab by-elections against rigging”.
Earlier talking to journalists outside the Supreme Court building, the PTI vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, termed the verdict as historic, saying the way the apex court judges bore the pressure tactics and the abuse – by the ruling coalition in order to buy time – and played their role for upholding the rule of law and the constitution is commendable.
“I pay tribute to the judges for tolerating unruly behaviour of the government ministers…the verdict is the victory of the public mandate and constitution,” he remarked.
He said that the “imported prime minister” – Shehbaz Sharif – should dissolve assemblies and call early elections which is the only solution now.
He said that the apex court judges did not move an inch, despite all the tricks used by the ruling coalition to perpetuate the rule of an illegally-elected chief minister Punjab.
He said that the narrative of party chairman Imran Khan that the “imported regime” – installed on people through a foreign conspiracy – is not acceptable has prevailed.
He said that “at first, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) turned its minority into majority with the help of some turncoats, and when they were de-seated, the people spoke in July 17 by-polls through their votes and endorsed Imran Khan’s stance”.
He said that “then the elected representatives of people elected Pervaiz Elahi as the chief minister Punjab with 186
votes while his rival bagged only 179 votes, adding then the role deputy speaker Dost Mazari of Punjab PA played, was shameful”.
“The deputy speaker crushed the constitution and he did not safeguard the rules…he had been elected on PTI ticket but he did not even care about it. He didn’t care about the law and the only thing he saw was his vested interest which neither the law nor the constitution allowed,” he regretted.
He continued that after what happened in Punjab PA, the party had no option but to approach the apex court which with great patience bore the “threats” of the regime.
“The language which the PPP and the PML-N leadership had adopted, the apex court bore with great patience and fulfilled its constitutional role. These parties launched personal attacks against the apex court judges but they did not move,” he added.
About the demand of the PDM leadership for the formation of a full bench, he said it was nothing but a delaying tactic on part of the “imported regime”, which the PTI lawyer especially Ali Zafar argued quite well.
He said that the government used all the tricks under the sky, especially the law minister as under what law he came to the rostrum to argue in the case, adding if he was so curious, he should have quit and then opted to argue in the case.
The PTI secretary general, Asad Umar, questioned if the full bench was so important in the instant case, why the PDM parties were all praise for the apex court as the same three judges had given their verdict in the deputy speaker National Assembly ruling case.
Barrister Ali Zafar, the PTI counsel in the case, termed the apex court verdict historic, saying all the bullying tactics used by the PDM did not work.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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