File photo. Tolga Akmen—AFP
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday slammed the alleged “partial treatment” for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan from the country’s senior judges, saying the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) was trying to “protect” him.
Speaking with media in London, the thrice-elected prime minister specifically pointed to CJP Umar Ata Bandial, former CJP Saqib Nisar, as well as Justice Ijazul Ahsan as seeking his ouster from office in 2017. “There was a time when justices Ijazul Ahsan, Asif Saeed Khosa, Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Saqib Nisar were obsessed with putting Nawaz Sharif behind bars, disqualifying him and ending his government. They left no stone unturned against us [PMLN], and there is now evidence of what they did from within their institution,” he said in response to a question from a reporter on the “relief” being provided to Khan by the Supreme Court over his incarceration in the Toshakhana case.
“Shaukat Aziz Sididqui is no outsider, he is from within the judiciary—what bigger proof is needed?” said Sharif, referring to the former judge who was removed from service by the Supreme Judicial Council. “Today, a man who is embroiled in corruption cases ranging from Toshakhana to Al-Qadir Trust for theft of billions, the chief justice is trying to protect him,” he said.
“Look at the difference … the then-chief justice was determined to push Nawaz Sharif against a wall, and today’s CJP is determined to save Imran Khan. They know he has destroyed the country, the economy, our national values, and violated our culture and traditions,” he said, lamenting all the PTI had done while in opposition was stage protests and demonstrations.
“Despite this we achieved so much. Even in power, he did not stop his campaign against us. He went to America and said he will get fans removed from Nawaz Sharif’s cell. In dharnas, he would say he would put a noose in my neck and drag me out of the P.M. House. He and Tahirul Qadri are all on record saying this,” he said, referring to the 2014 sit-in movement of the PTI.
“For this man, Imran Khan, the chief justice of Pakistan is putting his career on the line. It is disappointing that despite what is known about Khan’s destruction, that he was brought by [former ISI chief] Gen. Faiz and [former Army chief] Gen. Bajwa, that this is still happening,” he said, adding former CJP Nisar was on record as saying Nawaz and Maryam had to be jailed to ensure the PTI’s win in the 2018 elections. “Saqib Nisar said on the record that we [the judiciary] have to bring Imran Khan to power because it was the decision of General Bajwa and General Faiz,” he added.
Also on Wednesday, Sharif praised the Pakistan Army and the local administration in Battagram for a “tremendous rescue effort in Battagram that the whole world was watching.”