LAHORE: PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Thursday claimed that former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa had sought an extension from PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
Maryam made the claim in an exclusive interview with DawnNewsTV show Live With Adil Shahzeb, which will air tonight (Thursday) at 10pm.
In the interview, Maryam — who has railed against Khosa in the past for being part of a “conspiracy” against Nawaz — said: “Place your hand on the Quran and tell [the world] was your extension as the chief justice not being talked about?
“If Nawaz Sharif sahab had agreed, and he (Khosa) would have gotten an extension, then Umar Ata Bandial would not be the [current] chief justice.”
She said there were even talks of increasing the retirement age of Supreme Court judges, which she claimed was for Justice (retd) Khosa’s benefit.
Maryam said that a delegation had conveyed the then chief justice’s message to Nawaz, who was in jail at the time, adding that the PML-N supremo had refused to grant an extension.
پانامہ بینچ بنایا کس نے تھا؟
ثاقب نثار جس قسم کے فیصلے دے رہے تھے ان فیصلوں کو دیکھتے ہوئے آپکو لگتا ہے کہ انکا پانامہ بینچ سے کوئی تعلق نہیں تھا جب واٹس ایپ جے آئی ٹی بنی , بطور چیف جسٹس کوئی ایکشن لیا انہوں نے؟ چیف آرگنائزر مسلم لیگ ن مریم نوازشریف pic.twitter.com/E6PreQ4Fka— PMLN (@pmln_org) March 9, 2023
It is pertinent to mention that in 2017, ex-CJP Khosa headed a SC bench which had disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Papers case.
‘Faiz Hamid has confessed’
During the interview, Maryam also spoke about former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general (DG) retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hamid and said that he had “confessed” to his crime.
A day earlier, Maryam — in an interview with a newly-launched digital news outlet — had demanded the retired general’s court martial for his alleged role in getting her and her father convicted in NAB corruption references in 2017. She further said that as of now, she wanted to make an example of Gen Hamid.
Subsequently, senior journalist Kamran Khan claimed in a tweet that the former ISI chief had reached out to him and provided a response to the allegations being levelled by Maryam.
According to the journalist, Gen Hamid argued that in 2017-18, he was simply a major general in the army and asked whether, under military discipline, a lone officer could topple the government.
Gen Hamid was also quoted by the journalist as saying that it is the chief of army staff has the final say, and that all the major decisions — seemingly a reference to Nawaz’s disqualification and subsequent imprisonment — were taken by the courts.
Maryam, in her interview with Adil Shahzeb, defined Gen Hamid’s remarks as “confession of his crime”, adding: “If he has accepted it and confessed to it, then the institution of the armed forces [should] itself take notice because his confessional statement has come.”
Calling Gen Hamid a “stigma” blighting the army, Maryam expressed the hope that the institution itself would carry hold him accountable.
Maryam’s remarks come a day after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that a probe was underway against the ex-ISI chief and his brother over alleged corruption and accumulating assets beyond means.
‘Saddened by death of PTI worker’
During the interview, Maryam was also asked about the death of a PTI worker during a crackdown in Lahore a day ago on those participating in the party’s rally following the imposition of Section 144.
After calling off the rally, PTI chief Imran Khan had shared a video that he said showed the worker alive while being transported to the police station yesterday. He also shared a photo of his body, with a streak of blood on his forehead.
“The incident that happened yesterday … a political worker lost their life and I am utterly saddened by this,” she said, adding that she had also offered her condolences to the deceased’s family members and loved ones.
