Asif demands SC full court review cases from Panamagate

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif demanded on Friday in the National Assembly that the Supreme Court convene a full court to hear the suo motu notice on the election date for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies and review cases starting from the Panama issue to make a decision that would impact future government directions.

“I don’t want to give the impression that parliamentarians are trespassing on the jurisdiction of the judiciary, but as a political worker, I demand that this complicated situation that has been confronting the country for the last seven or eight months be resolved, because when the judiciary intervenes in parliament’s jurisdiction, then questions will arise,” he said.

In a fiery speech in the National Assembly, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that there had been direct and indirect confessions by those still involved in Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification case and that the full court of the apex court should begin with the Panama case. He said that a complaint remains that parliamentarians continue to criticise judges by name, but he would like to ask: if some judges are criticised, why aren’t others?

He suggested that the Supreme Court should inquire why Justice Munir is being chastised but not Justice Cornelius. Justices Irshad Hasan Khan and Riaz Shaikh are singled out for criticism, but Justices Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui and Nazim Siddiqui are not. He wondered why there was no criticism of Nasirul Mak if there was of Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa. “This is a question for the judiciary: why is it this way?” he said. The defence minister stated that in the recent past, judges were called out by name; when judges in Panama were called out for trespassing on our jurisdiction, we had the right to speak up as well. “Questions will be raised when the judiciary intervenes in parliament’s jurisdiction,” he said.

Khawaja Asif said that the dissolution of the two provincial assemblies had also been called into question. He said that it was not the judiciary’s role to rewrite the Constitution and that the way Article 63 had been rewritten had resulted in a constitutional crisis. “How Nawaz Sharif’s government was deposed was unjust,” he said. He said that he requested the Supreme Court through this house to form a full court and begin with the Panama case. He said the first unconstitutional act in this country was committed by a judge who had applied the doctrine of necessity. The judiciary had also carried out the first political martyrdom by hanging Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and the constitutional martyrdom of Nawaz Sharif.

The minister said that an MNA’s salary is Rs 1,68,000 and that some members walk from Parliament Lodges to the National Assembly because they cannot afford to live like wealthy people. “However, there are some elites for whom traffic is backed up for 15 minutes and a curfew-like situation is imposed on their movement,” he said, adding that, despite this on-the-ground reality, only politicians are chastised. He claimed that Imran Khan does not leave his house, obtains pre-arrest bail, and then instructs his party workers to court arrest. “Imran’s medical record has not yet been completed because he goes to his hospital,” Asif said, claiming the PTI chief regards Pakistanis as fools. Khawaja Asif said that this country was founded through a political struggle and that the founders of Pakistan were not sponsored individuals such as Imran Khan. “The “Jail Bharu movement” has ended, and the “Doob Maru movement” has begun.” He expressed regret that the previous government had backed out from its agreement with the IMF. “We inherited an economic crisis, and the shambles of the previous four years cannot be cleaned up in eight or nine months,” he said.

He claimed that the government was fully aware of the problems that the common man was facing, but that it will take time to get the economy back on track. The PMLN stalwart said that Gen Faiz and Gen Bajwa had informed this house that the Taliban had become soft; that they were returning; that they had become peaceful; that we had a discussion; that they would settle down; but what was the outcome? “Some people took their word for it and shared a cup of tea with them at Kabul’s hotel, saying that everything would be fine.”

He claimed that the country had lost 86,000 lives to terrorism. He also expressed concern about recent terror incidents in the country. He described his recent meetings with Afghan officials in Kabul as fruitful. The minister said that some people display wealth in these circumstances as if 220 million people do not exist and that they are the only class born to exploit the country’s resources. “As an example, consider a golf course on Lahore’s Mall Road. The rent is Rs 4,000 for 1,500 kanals. Consider the Islamabad Club. They are sitting on properties worth trillions of dollars, and no one can audit them,” he said, adding that PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan had tried but failed to audit them. He went on to say that this house cannot audit them because they have built firewalls around themselves that one cannot penetrate; one can only make verbal submissions.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Boards Coordination Commission Bill, 2023, was passed by the National Assembly. It was proposed by Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training. Two other bills were introduced to the House ---- The Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The Gas Theft Control and Recovery Amendment, Bill, 2023.