ISLAMABAD: An alliance of Pakistan’s ruling parties will protest against the top court on Monday, against the Supreme Court’s “undue facilitation” for former prime minister Imran Khan, a member of the alliance said on Sunday.
In what is being seen as the latest sign of tensions escalating between the government and the judiciary, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance announced earlier this week it would hold a protest demonstration outside the apex court in Islamabad.
Tensions escalated earlier this week after the Supreme Court termed Khan’s arrest on corruption charges illegal and ordered his immediate release amid countrywide protests. Members of the ruling coalition have since launched a fresh salvo against Pakistan’s senior judges, accusing them of repeatedly coming to Khan’s aid.
The PDM’s call for protest coincides with the apex court’s hearing of a case related to the delay in Punjab polls that it ordered to be held on May 14. Pakistan’s election regulator has asked the top court to review its order as the federal government, against the Supreme Court’s orders, has failed to provide Rs21 billion in funds and the required security to hold elections in Punjab.
The political and constitutional crises gripped the country shortly after ex-premier Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party dissolved provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in January. The move was intended to force the government to announce snap national elections.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has repeatedly rejected Khan’s demand, saying that polls for provincial assemblies and the National Assembly cannot be held on separate dates. Irked by the top court’s decision to order polling on May 14, the PDM has accused Pakistan’s top judge of being biased against the government and has passed laws to curtail Chief Justice Bandial’s powers to take notice of cases and constitute benches in an individual capacity.
“The purpose of our protest is to convey to the Supreme Court judges that they should avoid granting undue facilitation to Imran Khan who is accused of corruption and corrupt practices,” Aslam Ghauri, a spokesperson for the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, told Arab News on Sunday.
The JUI-F is headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a prominent politician who heads the PDM, which does not include a key member of the coalition government, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
“Workers and leadership of all PDM parties would take part in the protest aimed at upholding the constitution and rule of law in the country,” he said.
Ghauri said the PDM would stage its protest at Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue “with hundreds and thousands of demonstrators” on Monday.
Despite his claim, PDM parties wrote to the Islamabad district administration to hold a “public gathering” at D-chowk on Monday. The D-chowk is located approximately one kilometer away from the Supreme Court building.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said he has requested Rehman not to stage the protest at the Red Zone, the area in the capital where government, judiciary, and legislature buildings are located.
“We have requested our workers to bring with them food and bedding as our leadership will decide tomorrow [Monday] whether to turn the protest into a sit-in or disperse peacefully,” Ghauri said.
Legal experts said the coalition parties wanted to mount pressure on the Supreme Court judges, especially the chief justice, to reconsider his judgment on elections in Punjab. They also said the move was intended to preempt any action against the government and PM Sharif for defying the court’s directives.
“What message would it send to the international community if the sitting government would be protesting against a state institution, the country’s top court,” Justice (retired) Nasira Iqbal questioned, speaking to Arab News.
“They [the ruling alliance] just want to force the chief justice to refrain from any legal action against them for violating the constitution and the court’s order on Punjab elections,” she added.
Advocate Taimur Malik said it was “unprecedented” for a government to arrange a protest demonstration against the apex court on flimsy grounds.
“This will lead to further chaos and anarchy in the country as the government’s protest has got nothing to do with dispensation of justice or rule of law,” he told Arab News. “They should avoid it as it is a dangerous path to tread on.”
