Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday blamed that the judiciary was meting out a differential treatment to different political leaders. Speaking in the National Assembly, the premier said the judiciary should uphold justice while issuing verdicts. He recalled the time when the chief justice would take suo motu action day in and day out. Talking about the elections of the Punjab CM, Shehbaz said in 1973, all political parties accepted the Constitution wholeheartedly, but now the Constitution ‘is being played with’. Referring to Imran Khan, he contended that for the first time, a corrupt prime minister was sent home by the parliament through the power of vote.
He said the united opposition had accepted the challenge of assuming the government just to save the state as the country was on verge of the default with record inflation and unemployment. Shehbaz said he did not become prime minister through the backdoor rather for the first time, the parliament changed the government through a constitutional process. He said the PTI government violated the Constitution through the National Assembly deputy speaker and the president by dissolving the NA.
He also questioned whether the court summoned the NA deputy speaker like they did to the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker, who had decided against counting 10 votes by the PML-Q lawmakers in the chief minister’s election citing a letter from Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain advising the members to vote Hamza Shahbaz. He added that if the system continued without reformation, ensuring the sanctity of law and constitution, “We will be nowhere in history.”
Shehbaz claimed to have a lot of secrets buried in his chest but threatened to disclose them at reasonable time and place if “unfair treatment” continues against them. He said the government would make Pakistan emerge as a great country without bowing before fascism and propaganda by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership. Calling the parliament the mother of the Constitution, he said the 1973 Constitution would continue to provide the guidance in the decades to come. He said the Constitution also defined the powers of the legislature as well as the judiciary, but unfortunately, a mockery of the constitution was made during last 75 years by imposing martial laws which also led to the country’s disintegration and weakling the democracy.
He said contrary to Pakistan, the neighbouring countries, which were far behind it vis-à-vis development had excelled and also got rid of the International Monetary Fund after improving their economies. Calling the 2018 general election “the worst in the country’s history”, the prime minister said a government was imposed through massive rigging. Consequently, during its over three and a half years term, the ousted PTI government took loans of Rs20,000 billion and dropped the GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate from 5.8 percent to negative in 2020 making hundreds of thousands of people jobless. He questioned why the foreign funding case’s verdict is not being announced despite the passage of eight years. “Did anyone take suo motu notice over this,” he questioned. “The ladla (favourite) was provided milk for 15 years and then he was imposed on this nation. The support he got [from institutions] is unprecedented in the country’s history… and no one in future is likely to get the same treatment as well.” The premier said that if there is no justice in the country then it cannot move forward and progress. “What I am saying is, if the system works like this then Quaid’s soul would remain restless. It will also make the souls of the martyrs of partition restless… did they sacrifice their lives for this,” he questioned.
The prime minister said that those who used to taunt us about being the “imported government” when they returned from the United States after meeting the then US president, Donald Trump said that they had brought another World Cup to Pakistan. Shehbaz said that Russia had refused that it had made any offer to export cheap oil to Pakistan. “We got an offer a day before tomorrow from Russia for purchasing of wheat. We have also made a counter offer.”
He said that Imran Khan kept calling them dacoits and robbers day and night but could not prove corruption worth a single penny. “I never got money from Israel or India but Imran Khan did,” he added. Shehbaz said that former DG FIA Bashir Memon said on record that he was summoned by Imran Khan to make fake cases against Asif Ali Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and others but he refused.
“Who hanged dirty clothes outside parliament? Who attacked parliament? Who burned the electricity bills? But no one took notice. A party leader is saying don’t pay taxes and burning copies of bills but no one notices it,” he added. Shehbaz said that the Chinese president was due to arrive in Pakistan in September 2014 and the entire government including the prime minister pleaded to PTI to vacate D-Chowk. “Even some powerful circles got involved… I am witness to it… but they did not budge. Due to these actions, Pakistan suffered… some projects got delayed,” he added.
The prime minister said that 220 million people have put faith in the parliament but the Constitution has set limits for each institution. However, he added, unfortunately, the Constitution has been violated many a time in this country. “Several times martial law was imposed in the country. We have been unable to strengthen parliament as much as we should have,” he added. The premier said that he was in constant contact with all provincial governments to address concerns of flood-stricken masses that had suffered the loss of lives, properties, and related injuries.
He acknowledged that the country had suffered a lot during the ongoing monsoon spells. The prime minister vowed to provide relief to those affected by the floods by expanding the relief package’s amount and outreach.
