LAHORE: Sindh Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon has urged the judiciary to treat the political leadership of the country equally while deciding political disputes.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, he criticised the judiciary for providing relief to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan. There should be no impression of favouritism in the verdicts announced by the courts, he added.
He lamented that some judges were under domestic pressure while others were favouring their close relatives associated with PTI. The courts should ensure equal treatment while deciding political matters in the country, he said and added that the court decisions should follow the precedents, instead of person specific.
He urged the courts to decide matters on merit and not prefer faces over cases. He pointed out that the case of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was decided on the basis of his face, and not the case. We are experiencing a similar situation in the country where cases are being decided on personal liking and disliking, he said.
According to him, society could only progress through equal treatment of the law. The state could not behave like a stepmother against a few ones, he stressed. Any such situation would lead to multiple issues, he further warned.
The PPP stalwart said the courts should not take suo motu notices on subjudice and under-trial matters. He also asked why the Supreme Court has not taken suo motu notice against foreign funding of PTI, including those from Indian and Israeli sources, especially when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has established the fact through evidence.
Sharjeel demanded an equal standard of justice in the country and sought the disqualification of Imran Khan for concealing bank accounts with prohibited funds.
Sharjeel said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was a supporter of dialogue between the political parties but it cannot allow either of the disputed parties to dictate its terms in the name of dialogue. Instead, he said, everyone should aim at the supremacy of the Constitution and law, he stressed.
He said the PPP would support the holding of elections in the country at once and in line with the spirit of the Constitution and law.
He also lambasted Ch Pervaiz Elahi and Imran Khan for challenging police raids and avoiding to surrender before the law. He recalled that Asif Zardari had rendered his arrest when police had arrived at his residence in Islamabad during the PTI regime. According to him, the court should also take suo motu notice of the revelation made by Dr Yasmin Rashid that the PTI supporters had hurled petrol bombs at the police force when they had raided Zaman Park to arrest Imran Khan. He lamented that the workers of Ch Pervaiz Elahi repeated a similar act when police had reached his residence to arrest him.
He also mentioned the telephonic conversation between Shaukat Tarin and former finance ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where he was proposing to defy the agreement of the government with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to him, former premier Imran Khan deviated from his commitment to the IMF which led to unprecedented inflation in the country.
He said the PPP was carrying the narrative “Pakistan belongs to us” and its social media team would speak the truth to defeat the propaganda of PTI.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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