Khawaja Asif calls for full court bench to hear provincial assemblies election date case

ISLAMABAD, Feb 24 (APP):Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Friday called for a full court bench of the Supreme Court to hear the suo motu notice case regarding the announcement of a date for elections of the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking in the National Assembly, the minister said a nine-member larger bench of the apex court was already engaged with the case, but in view of its utmost importance, it would be appropriate that a full court bench should be constituted for this purpose.

He said there should be no impression of any trespass by parliamentarians into the jurisdiction of other institutions. “But as a political worker, I demand that the complicated situation being faced by the country for the last 7-8 months must be resolved,” he added.

Asif said the full court bench might initiate the review of the SC verdicts right from the Panama Papers case, and the resultant decisions would have a positive impact on the country’s future.

All the stakeholders must be listened to and then the final verdict should be a roadmap for the future course of action, he added.

The minister said: ”The judges like Justice (retd) Muneer Hussain and Justice (retd) Riaz Sheikh did face public criticism, but those like Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui and Nazim Siddiqui are remembered for their dignity and uprightness.”

He said the parliament’s domain in the past had been trespassed, besides targeting the PML-N leadership. “Some of them (judges) deemed to have not fulfilled their responsibilities,” he added.

Khawaja Asif pointed out that the re-defining of Article 63-A did create a constitutional crisis. Citing the SC decision about the lifetime disqualification of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, he said it was an unprecedented verdict.

There were some direct and indirect confessions on record by the people about Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification case and that was why the full court bench might take up the Panama Papers case first, he remarked.

The minister said politicians were unduly blamed for their lifestyle, but they were just serving the people. On the other hand, no one even dared to ask about the lifestyle of the ‘elites’, who enjoyed perks and privileges.

The minister pointed out that the salary of an NA member was just Rs 168,000 and some came to House on foot from the Parliament Lodges as they could not afford it.

On the contrary, there were elites whose movement led to traffic jams due to the curfew-like situation, he said, adding only the politicians faced criticism on that count.

Khawaja Asif said a person was imposed on the country, who had eventually destroyed moral values and violated the Constitution.

The same person got dissolved the National Assembly with the president’s consent, preempting the success of no-confidence motion, which was the constitutional right of coalition partners, he added.

The minister said those who had ‘sponsored’ Imran Khan for prime ministership, now stood exposed. It was just like a wrath for the country, which even today was causing a lot of suffering for the people.

He said there had been a persistent crisis for the last 7-8 months the country had been undergoing.

Khawaja Asif said ironically, Imran Khan himself got protective bail, but directed his party workers to court their arrests. Imran Khan was taking refuge at home on the basis of his own hospital’s medical reports.

Referring to the past political history, he said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed due to a “wrong” judicial verdict, while Nawaz Sharif had to face disqualification. “So no one is free from such blames. Still some politicians uphold dignity and prestige, and they are respected by the people.”

He said the parliament had always been impeded in carrying out its basic task of accountability as the incumbent head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Noor Alam Khan was also facing the same impediments.

He said Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had told him that an amount of Rs 1.2 billion was collected at the wedding ceremony of a bureaucrat’s son, who even did not bother to provide details of that money. On the other side, politicians bore the brunt despite serving their constituents, he added.

About the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s court arrest movement, he said the son of Shah Mehmood Qureshi had approached the court to get his father’s bail a day after his arrest.

On the contrary, there was no relief for the PML-N leaders and workers who had to face 90-day remand. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were imprisoned for many days, while Nawaz Sharif made some 200 court appearances.

“No one of us got bail, but the PTI leaders are going for instant bail,” the minister said.

“They (PTI leaders) carry out photo sessions in front of police vans and then leave for home.The ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ has flopped. Now it should be a ‘doob maro film’.”

The minister said the incumbent Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government had inherited the economic mess from Imran Khan.

“We are trying to steer the country out of this economic crisis. We know that people are heavily burdened. We are cleaning the mess which will take time,” Asif said.

He alleged that the PTI chief had totally ignored his well-wishers and those who helped him to come to power.

Khawaja Asif said PTI leader Pervaiz Khattak had proposed the name of Sikandar Sultan Raja for the Chief Election Commissioner, but today the party was now opposing him.

“Imran Khan does not even spare the people who feed him. For the first time the appointment of chief of army staff was unduly made controversial,” the minister added.

Khawaja Asif , commenting on the recent visit of a Pakistani delegation to Afghanistan, said some four cabinet ministers were part of the delegation that held negotiations with the Afghan counterparts with positive results.

However, he said, the real question was to go for own accountability. Thousands of civilians and law enforcement personnel offered sacrifices, but “the person while holding a cup of tea had said all would be well.”

The nation, he added, sought answers for the bloodshed carried out by the terrorists in Karachi and Peshawar.

The minister said he had to sign letters every month for the family members of the martyrs extending sympathies, and their number was increasing. The martyrs were not mere numbers, rather they were sons, fathers, and main support for their families.

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