ISLAMABAD: Maryam Nawaz, senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), criticised Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday for his comments during a hearing of the Punjab election delay case.
Speaking at a lawyers’ convention in Rawalpindi, Nawaz accused the CJP of taunting lawmakers when they discussed law and the Constitution. She said: “Do you know how prideful it is to go to jail for an ideology?”
The top court had heard the petition against the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone elections to the Punjab Assembly and quashed the order.
At one point in the hearing, the chief justice had said: “Today, when you go to parliament, you find [the same] people who were till yesterday in captivity, imprisoned, and declared traitors addressing the parliament. They are now talking over there, and being respected because they are representatives of the people.”
His comments came a day after the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, aimed at clipping the powers of the chief justice and giving the right to appeal in all suo motu cases with retrospective effect, was passed in the Senate.
Responding to the judge, Nawaz criticised the country’s judiciary and chief justice for alleged unfair treatment towards elected prime ministers and politicians.
She highlighted that in Pakistan’s 75-year history, nearly 40 years were spent under military rule, with not a single elected prime minister completing their term. She claimed that while four dictators had completed 10 years each, no court had dared to take action against them.
Nawaz also criticised the chief justice for allegedly showing emotion during a recent hearing, while no emotion was shown when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted on the basis of an expired Iqama, and an election won by Nawaz was handed over to Imran Khan.
Nawaz also alleged that Khan was facilitated by former director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed who allegedly controlled the judicial system and forced judiciary members to provide desired verdicts through videos.
She accused Khan of being at fault for the unfair treatment of politicians, citing the trend of getting bail in multiple cases simultaneously, which was not afforded to PML-N leaders such as Rana Sanaullah. She argued that going to jail for an ideology should be a matter of pride and that those who went to jail were imprisoned due to fake cases.
Nawaz criticised the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Punjab polls case, likening it to the alleged facilitation provided by justices Saqib Nisar, Asif Saeed Khosa, and Hameed in 2017. She called into question the decision and accused Bandial of disregarding judges who had raised legal concerns, instead, selecting those who supported him.
She also accused the chief justice of rewriting the Constitution and facilitating Khan’s ascent to power. Nawaz further called on the judge to investigate recent audio leaks, including one that purportedly features Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
Nawaz also suggested that the CJP should first address the lack of consensus among the Supreme Court judges before commenting on talks between the government and opposition parties.
