PESHAWAR, Dec 21: A former chief minister and a leader of the PML-N, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan on Saturday proposed the establishment of separate supreme courts in each province and a federal court at the Centre with equal provincial representation.

Sardar Mehtab said that an “individual with a gun” had been usurping the rights of the provinces. The situation, he said, was so grim that even the provincial issues like local governments and Police Order 2002 could not be discussed by the provincial assemblies without the permission of that individual.

Speaking to the district Bar, he regretted that on a single telephonic call from the United States, the government became a partner in the killing of Afghans with the result that now Pakistan was considered an enemy country by the Afghans.

He claimed that the hidden hands that had helped form governments in the Centre and Sindh had again become active to defame the politicians.

The former chief minister said that through the Legal Framework Order the provinces had been made subservient to the will of the president.

He demanded that all the provinces be treated alike. Strengthening the Centre meant strengthening Punjab, he remarked.

For safeguarding the rights of the provinces, he said it was necessary to establish supreme courts in each province and a federal court having equal representation of all the provinces.

During the last three years, he alleged, efforts were made to sow hatred among the provinces. “We have to face trial in Punjab. The accountability bureau especially targeted people from the NWFP and Balochistan,” he maintained.

The PML-N leader said that even after the installation of a civilian government the country had been passing through a crucial phase. He observed that the situation was similar to that of 1971.

He repudiated the government’s claim of having foreign currency reserves to the tune of $9 billion.