Imran Khan, head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former prime minister, expressed alarm about the government’s activities on Friday, saying they are making a joke of Pakistan abroad. “The dangerous ruling buffoons don’t realize the damage they are doing to Pak’s image abroad by sham FIRs & absurd sedition charges against a former PM for using terms ‘Dirty Harry’ & ‘psycopath’! They are making a mockery of Pakistan,” tweeted Khan. He also warned that foreign investors may be getting a troubling message after the Pakistani government’s decision to not accept the Supreme Court’s decision in the Punjab polls delay the case.
“Also, what msg is being sent to foreign investors when govt itself is not accepting SC decisions? Investors need the security of contracts & which means faith in the judicial system. What confidence can they have when govt itself casts aside SC orders? This happens in a banana republic,” he tweeted.
Khan’s remarks came after the federal government urged that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial resign, alleging that his position had become “controversial” as a result of Judge Athar Minallah’s dissenting opinion in the case. According to Justice Minallah, the Supreme Court’s suo motu notice regarding the delay in the notification of provincial assembly elections was dismissed by a 4-3 majority finding.
The verdict on the PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone the Punjab Assembly elections until October 8 was announced by a three-member SC bench comprised of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar.
The government called the finding a “minority verdict” and the National Assembly passed a motion condemning the Supreme Court.
The refusal of the government to accept the Supreme Court’s ruling has generated concerns about the country’s democracy and legal system.
The PTI head further alleged that the sedition proceedings filed against him, as well as the arrest of senior party leader Ali Amin Gandapur, are intended to weaken his party’s capacity to run for office.
“Sedition cases against me – this is 144th case against me- and our senior ldr Ali Amin along with his imprisonment, are simply attempts to undermine our Party’s ability to fight elections. This is all part of London Plan in which Nawaz Sharif was given assurances that PTI would be crushed before elections through fake cases & imprisonment of its leadership,” he tweeted.
According to The Express Tribune, Imran Khan has been pressing for assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces as part of his drive to demand an early general election since being forced out of power a year ago after losing a vote of confidence.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on the other hand, has rejected Imran Khan’s appeal for an early general election, and his government has supported the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone voting in the two provinces until October 8.
The commission blamed a lack of resources, and the administration agreed, saying it was impossible to organise provincial elections when the country was in the grip of an economic crisis and a general election was scheduled for early October anyhow.
The Supreme Court, however, decided that the delay was unlawful and that voting in the two provinces should take place between April 30 and May 15, according to The Express Tribune.
