ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will continue sit-in outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan until the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial resigns from his office, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has announced.
The alliance 13 political parties is all set to hold a sit-in outside the SC on Monday (tomorrow) to protest the judiciary’s “favour” to PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
The protest sit-in is being held side by side the hearing of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) plea asking the apex court to revisit its order of holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. The petition will be heard a day after the court-ordered election deadline lapses.
As the Islamabad High Court (IHC) eliminated all possibilities of PTI chief Imran Khan’s arrest in all cases until Monday (May 15) a day after the apex court had declared Mr Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case “illegal”, Mr Rehman announced the protest and sit-in outside the top court.
The PDM chief made the announcement after an emergency meeting of the PDM, attended by various political leaders including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and PML-N chief organizer Maryam Nawaz.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mr Rehman criticised the top court for granting bail to Mr Khan in all cases after May 9, and for allegedly giving him preferential treatment. He accused the court of protecting the crime instead of eliminating it and protecting the criminal (Imran Khan).
He also criticised the court for allegedly exceeding its constitutional and legal authority by ordering authorities to refrain from arresting Mr Khan even in unknown cases. He lamented that similar concessions were not given to Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, or Faryal Talpur.
In a video message released on Saturday, the PDM chief said the sit-in would be staged against the protection being given by a three-member bench of the apex court and Islamabad High Court to a “criminal”.
“I ask the workers of all political parties to reach Constitution Avenue in Islamabad at 9am on Monday to show national solidarity against the protection of the criminal by the three-member bench and the high court,” he said.
The PDM chief, who is also the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s (JUI) Fazl faction, shared that all had been done and dusted for the event and thousands of workers would reach the venue from all the provinces.
Referring to relief provided to Khan in terms of bails, Fazl said that the courts were encouraging a “criminal” to weaken the country and to disintegrate.
He then asked workers of Ansarul Islam, a volunteer organisation of the JUI-F, to ensure discipline and peace during the protest, and also requested lawyers to participate in the event to ensure supremacy of law.
PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz reached Islamabad on Saturday after the party decided to join the protest sit-in called outside the Supreme Court by the PDM chief. Ms Nawaz would lead the PML-N for the protest.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz, and attended by PML-N’s MPAs and other leaders, at the party’s secretariat in Model Town.
Meanwhile a meeting of the party leaders, headed by Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, was held at their Model Town Secretariat on Saturday, where the participants decided to attend the JUI-F’s planned demonstration outside the SC.
The PML-N members were tasked to gather a maximum number of people for the protest.
PML-N Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz appointed the party’s Lahore Malik Saif ul Malook Khokhar as convener for the Islamabad rally, which would start from Jati Umrah, Lahore.
It was earlier decided that Maryam would lead the rally to Islamabad but later the decision was revoked.
Read more: Nawaz directs PML-N leadership to hold power shows across country
