Islamabad: PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz Sharif Monday demanded the resignation of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and blamed him for the “anarchy” and “crisis” in the country as she joined the ruling coalition’s sit-in outside the Supreme Court to protest some of the recent rulings which they said provided blanket relief to former prime minister Imran Khan.
Addressing a gathering of protesters outside the Supreme Court here, Maryam, the daughter of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party supremo Nawaz Sharif, accused the Supreme Court of imposing a “judicial martial law” in Pakistan.
She said that “free and fair elections are not possible until Umar Ata Bandial remains the country’s top judge” and that polls will be held at its scheduled time “after you (Bandial) step down”.
Accompanied by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other leaders of the multi-party alliance, the 49-year-old PML-N leader said: “All of you should be aware that the anarchy […] and crisis that has taken over the country today, the place of its genesis was not Zaman Park as much as Umar Ata Bandial’s post.”
“Today, when the army is standing with the democracy and Constitution of Pakistan … the fifth martial law in Pakistan … judicial martial law has been imposed from this building,” she said, apparently referring to some of the rulings from the apex court.
Maryam accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan of doing what “terrorists or Pakistan’s enemies could not do”.
“He and his wife stole the public’s money and then bought plots from this money,” Maryam Nawaz said, adding that Khan, 70, “trained” his “minions” at Zaman Park and set fire to the Jinnah House.
“Elected prime ministers are sent packing and some are hanged … and [these decisions] are stamped here,” she said, lambasting the apex court over its failure in “delivering justice to the oppressed, bringing the powerful under the law and strengthening democracy”.
“But the facilitators […] sitting in this building are murdering justice,” she said.
“Are you happy to see a sea of people outside the Supreme Court?’ Maryam asked the top judge of the country.
Maryam Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Fazlur Rehman earlier in the day joined the ruling coalition’s sit-in outside the Supreme Court.
Demonstrators, belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), earlier in the day entered the Red Zone despite Section 144 still in effect in the federal capital and set up a stage in front of the Supreme Court.
Fazlur Rehman, also the chief of PDM — a ruling alliance of 13 political parties, had Friday announced to stage the sit-in outside the Supreme Court against Chief Justice Bandial for facilitating Khan.
It was believed that demonstrators would leave the venue after a token protest but the JUI-F, which is one of the largest components of PDM, converted the protest into a “sit-in”.
“The management committee has finalised arrangements for the protest-sit-in outside the Supreme Court [in] Islamabad. The management committee has begun arrangements for converting the protest into a sit-in,” the JUI-F tweeted.
The party also said it would set up tents and build washrooms at the venue.
Protesters, demanding the resignation of the chief justice over ordering the release of 70-year-old Khan, chanted slogans against Bandial.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who was earlier scheduled to join the protest, has been advised against it by senior members of his Pakistan People’s Party.
PPP leader Nisar Khoro was however seen standing alongside PDM leadership on the stage.
According to the district administration, protesters entered the Red Zone and pushed away the police and administration.
“Protesters were informed about the government’s orders on behalf of the administration,” the administration said.
Dawn News reported that all routes going toward the Red Zone were closed to traffic.
Meanwhile, Khan said that on the one hand, PDM “goons” facilitated by security agencies were trying to “take over” the Supreme Court and subverting the Constitution while on the other hand, the government was clamping down on PTI workers with at least 7,000 arrested and dozens of unarmed protestors killed.
The cricketer-turned-politician, who has a massive following in Pakistan, urged all citizens to be ready for peaceful protests, citing that it would be the end of Pakistan’s dream once the Constitution and Supreme Court were destroyed.
“So without any investigation into who was responsible for arson on a government building or dozens of deaths of unarmed protesters by bullet wounds, around 7000 PTI workers, leadership and our women have been jailed with plans to ban the largest and only federal party in Pak,” Khan tweeted.
“Meanwhile, these goons are being facilitated by our security agencies to take over the SC and subvert the constitution. All citizens be ready for peaceful protests as once the constitution and Supreme Court are destroyed, it is the end of the Pak dream.” he wrote.
“PDM workers reach outside the gate of the Supreme Court. Protestors have entered the Red Zone, but the situation is peaceful,” Geo News quoted an Islamabad Police spokesperson as saying.
The PDM-led protest is a sign of escalating tensions between the judiciary and the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.
Khan was Friday granted bail by the Supreme Court of Pakistan after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested the ousted prime minister on charges of accepting millions of dollars worth of property in exchange for providing benefits to a real estate tycoon.
Khan has said the JUI-F “drama” that is being done outside the Supreme Court is only for one purpose — to overawe the Chief Justice of Pakistan so that he does not give a verdict according to the Constitution.
Khan’s arrest by the Pakistan Rangers at the IHC premises last Tuesday triggered unrest in Pakistan that continued till Friday and led to several deaths and dozens of military and state installations being destroyed by the protesters.
For the first time in the country’s history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched the historic Corps Commander’s House in Lahore.
Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan’s party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.
PTI