Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said the government should file references in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the three judges who presided over the polls delay case, while criticizing the ruling as an “attempt to rewrite the Constitution.”
Addressing a press conference in London, he said the courts lacked the mandate to issue an election schedule, adding that the ruling—which has designated May 14 as the date for polls in Punjab and issued an entire schedule for the exercise—is akin to a “charge sheet against the three-member bench.”
Alleging that the bench—comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar—was working to “bring one individual to power,” he questioned why there had been a reluctance to form a full court bench, despite all parties and various bar associations supporting it. “I don’t understand the double standards: we were removed in one minute—what did we do? People are removed, others installed, hanged, dictators are facilitated through the doctrine of necessity, but prime ministers are given one final push,” he said, slamming the judiciary’s history of political judgements, many of which have seen the ousting of democratically elected governments.
Recalling that the ruling to disqualify him from holding public office had termed him a part of the “Sicilian mafia,” he lamented that courts facilitated dictators by invoking the doctrine of necessity but never used the same for prime ministers. “Nothing has changed,” he lamented. “This is a one-man show in the words of three judges. How can one entity be allowed to become P.M., CEC [chief election commissioner], defense minister and Parliament?” he said, while urging the public to take notice of “certain people” who were out to “destroy Pakistan.”
Stressing that this decision did not impact him, he described it as “punishment” for the people of Pakistan. “They will suffer due to the Supreme Court’s decision,” he claimed, adding that his party would not accept the ruling, as it had also been rejected by other judges of the court.
“I have suffered imprisonment but the real punishment is being given to you through these decisions,” he added. To a question, he said he would advise his party to not accept the “partisan” ruling regardless of the consequences.
On Tuesday, after over a week of hearings, the SC declared the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s postponing of polls in Punjab “illegal” and designated May 14 as the date for elections in the province. It also directed the finance ministry to release funds for the conduct of elections, ordering the ECP to inform it if there were any hurdles to its functioning. While the PTI has hailed the decision, the parties comprising the ruling alliance have termed it “biased” and said they would not accept it.