By Special Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: In an apparent bid to pressure the top court in the wake of its April 4 order of holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14 – a date that has already lapsed – the Fazlur Rehman-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is all set to hold a sit-in at the Constitution Avenue outside the Supreme Court today (Monday) to protest against the judiciary’s ‘undue facilitation’ to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz had arrived in the federal capital to participate in the sit-in which is coinciding with the Supreme Court hearing the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) plea to review its order of holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14 – the date lapsed yesterday. The court-ordered Punjab election deadline lapsed on May 14 with the government coming up with plain replies that it has no funds, no security for the exercise.
In this regard, a meeting presided over by the Supreme Court’s registrar to discuss the security plan and arrangements for the deployment of the law-enforcement personnel was held here on Saturday but no representative of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police attended the meeting. The Supreme Court registrar expressed his concerns over what it viewed lack of cooperation by the Islamabad police.
According to the Information Minister, on the instructions of PML-N supremo Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his brother and Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz would represent her party in the PDM sit-in. She said the PML-N would participate in the sit-in under Maryam’s leadership.
On Saturday, PML-N leaders held a meeting at the party’s secretariat in Model Town Lahore and decided to fully participate in the sit-in/protest. During the huddle, the PML-N leaders were assigned various tasks regarding the participation in the sit-in outside the top court.
Separately, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman released a video message, appealing the public to reach Islamabad and participate in what the party is saying would be a “peaceful” protest. He asked his followers to reach outside the SC building at 9am to establish national unity. He maintained that a three-member Supreme Court bench and the high courts judges had granted protection to a convict, referring to Imran.
He further said that they had to protect the state institutions and “correct” the “wrongdoings” of the judges. The PDM president pointed out that the judges are paid their salaries from the taxpayers’ money. He further said that judges today were violating the Constitution, law and judicial traditions.
Again, referring to the PTI chairman, Fazlur Rehman claimed that a ‘criminal’ was unilaterally being protected, and given a VIP protocol. The JUI-F head said they have been in the field before and added, “Today it’s necessary to come in the field once again”. Maulana said he was inviting activists to reach the Constitution Avenue on Monday. He said they would reach the Constitution Avenue together and send a strong message to the courts that they should “mend their ways”.
It is to mention here that the government has implicated PTI chief Imran Khan in dozens of criminal cases during the past one year or so and he has succeeded in getting bails from the courts in recent weeks.
