ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that the coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will complete its remaining term and the elections will be held on time. Briefing the media after chairing the PDM summit here on Thursday, Rehman who is also the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the reserved judgement in the foreign funding case against former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan immediately, saying that the case has taken eight long years.
He said the PDM will purge the country of the mess spread by Imran Khan in the past four years. We will take the country forward and put it on the path of development, Maulana said, adding that the present government will not only complete the remaining term but will also defeat Imran Khan and “his sponsors”.
He said that the PDM meeting will continue for a few more days and critical decisions will be taken to put the country in the right direction. He said that the remaining one-year term was not sufficient to purge the country of the mess created by Imran Khan; therefore, the PDM will also form the next government and by taking necessary steps will correct the direction of the country.
The meeting has asked the government to file a petition in the Supreme Court to get a decision on Article 63-A by constituting full court. The recent court’s decision has created an economic crisis in the country, which is unacceptable. The court by overstepping the constitutional limits not only created an economic disorder but also created political uncertainty and a constitutional crisis. He further said that in the recent decision of the Supreme Court out of five, two judges have declared the Supreme Court’s order against the constitution which was also rejected by the Supreme Court Bar, as well as, the other bars of the country.
Brushing aside speculation, coalition govt decides to complete constitutional term
Responding to a question regarding the economic crisis, he said that he himself a year ago had mentioned the current economic situation, saying uplifting the national economy after Imran Khan’s departure will be an uphill task as he had destroying every segment of the economy and social values. Maulana said that Imran Khan’s total narrative was based on “lies”.
Taking the rostrum, Vice President of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz said the full court request was rejected because the judges did not want to serve justice. “Justice was killed,” she alleged, insisting that “I was sure the full court bench would not be formed.”
She maintained that the SC’s decision has put “our 25 members in Imran’s lap, as well as, PML-Q’s 10 members are in Imran’s lap.” She went on to highlight that if mistakes had to be fixed, then Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s Justice Shaukat Siddiqui case should have been heard by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). “If a mistake had to be fixed, then lower court Judge Arshad Malik’s concerns should have been addressed.”
Maryam maintained that Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is the “judiciary’s chief minister” bestowed on Punjab by the three judges of the top court. “The only thing safe in this country is the foreign funding case,” Maryam said, highlighting how the case verdict is being delayed for eight years.
Maryam said that the full court petition was rejected because they wanted to benefit Imran Khan as with a full court there was no chance to benefit Imran Khan as the majority of the judges are honest. She said that the Supreme Court three-member bench has totally rejected own decision delivered some days ago.
She also read the lines of the judgement of the recent Supreme Court’s decision. She said that both the decisions were delivered for benefiting Imran Khan. Pervez Elahi is not an elected chief minister but appointed by the three-member bench and will be called “judiciary’s chief minister” because he was appointed through a court order. She further said that the election of former deputy speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri was declared null and void by the election tribunal but he remained deputy speaker on the Supreme Court for two and half years as the court didn’t vacate stay order.
Maryam said that in principle, the Supreme Court’s judgement against Nawaz Sharif should have been set aside as he was punished on false charges but instead of correcting itself the three-member bench of the SC did away with their judgement on Article 63-A just to benefit Imran Khan.
As per the constitution, the Supreme Court’s duty is to explain a certain law instead of rewriting the constitution which the SC did in Article 63-A presidential reference, she said adding that the parliament is liable to formulate laws not the SC; if the SC wanted to make laws the doors of the parliament house should be locked forever.
The Foreign Funding case decision against Imran Khan is pending in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the past eight years. Imran Khan has received Israeli and Indian funding but he is getting special treatment. All amount received in the foreign funding case is with the signature of Imran Khan. Imran Khan is just “a bully” and the present Chief Election Commissioner was appointed by him, she said adding that Imran Khan was habitual of attacking the head of any institution taking any case against him aimed at pressurizing the institution.
She said if the ECP did not give a decision in the foreign funding case within a month, the PDM and allied parties will organise a sit-in outside the ECP. Imran Khan was bent upon destroying the country as well as national institutions and “we will not allow this to happen in any case and will resist it”.
Nawaz Sharif and other members of the PML-N were punished in false cases to benefit Imran Khan, she said.
She concluded that if the ECP does not announce the foreign funding case verdict, then the coalition government will stage a protest outside the election commission offices throughout the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022