ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday took exception to an observation made by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial that “certain people speaking in National Assembly had undergone jail terms and were declared traitors”, saying going to jail for a cause is an honour and he had been given bail by the courts in all cases filed against by the then prime minister Imran Khan.
During the hearing of a case pertaining delay of election in Punjab, the chief justice had remarked: “Today, when you go to parliament, you find people...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”.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Sharif took pride in his terms in jail, saying he was put in prison by his arch-rival Imran Khan, the former prime minister, in connivance with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), but he was given bail by a full bench of a high court and then by the apex court.
Sharif said that the country’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 added.
However, the PTI government headed by Imran Khan was consumed with putting opposition leaders behind bars, Sharif 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,” he added.
“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,” he added.
Referring to the CJP’s remarks, the prime minister 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,” he added.
“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 asked without taking any names.
Sharif said that MPs 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.
He wished that the CJP would have instead talked about the UK’s National Crime Agency’s investigation against him, wherein, it had found no evidence of any criminal activities or the apology issued by the Daily Mail after it accused the premier of “stealing British foreign aid money”.
“He (CJP Bandial) did not remember all of this but he remembered that I was making a speech after serving a prison sentence. This double standard cannot continue.”
The prime minister also said that the entire coalition government had expressed a lack of confidence in the three-member Supreme Court bench hearing the PTI’s plea against the postponement of polls.
He said that if CJP Bandial constituted a full court to hear the matter, the nation will have no difficulty in accepting that decision.
Sharif said that for such a complicated and contentious decision to be issued by a three-member bench was 100 per cent against the principles of justice.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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