ISLAMABAD: Supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif has announced that judicial reforms aimed to provide speedy and inexpensive justice to the masses is one of the main items of his party’s manifesto for the general elections.

While responding to a journalist’s question during an interval in proceedings of the trial about the Avenfield apartments in London, Mr Sharif said: “We will introduce comprehensive judicial system that is desperately needed in the country.”

He was asked whether or not his party, provided it won the general elections, would go for establishing the Federal Constitutional Court as agreed under the Charter of Democracy with the PPP in 2006.

The former prime minister said the PML-N government would bring in drastic and much-needed improvements in the judicial system.

“It is a part of our manifesto as well as the need of the time... to overhaul the judicial system because... an overwhelming majority of litigants complain of delayed justice or not getting justice at all,” he said.

Mr Sharif added that the PML-N government held several extensive meetings on judicial reforms in 2013; however, there was a need for improving the proposals.

Responding to a question about whether his disqualification as a parliamentarian, the ouster of the PML-N government in Balochistan and the outcome of the recent elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman were connected, the ousted premier simply said it all needed to be investigated by journalists.

He, however, said there was a GPS (Global Positioning System) that was guiding the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, PPP and their allies to the Sanjrani House.

“Who told Imran Khan and Asif Ali Zardari about the Sanjrani House? It is the GPS that has shown Sanjrani’s address to the residents of Banigala and Bilawal House and other senators,” he remarked.

“I can bet Imran Khan did not know where the Sanjrani House was and that a Sadiq lived there,” he said, adding that the incumbent Senate chairman had “not rendered any service to Pakistan”.

“Senator Raza Rabbani and Senator Raja Zafarul Haq were far better candidates than Sadiq Sanjrani.”

He said that people needed to investigate whether Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai was justified in claiming that he could name the official of an institution in connection with fall of the PML-N government in Balochistan.

About relations between the civilian and military leaderships, Mr Sharif said: “I am against any conflict, whether in civil, military or any other form; in fact we want the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. “When the country will be run in accordance with the law and the Constitution, there will be no conflict at all.”

The former premier, who is facing three references filed by the National Accountability Bureau on the direction of the Supreme Court, claimed that his case was unique in the history of NAB because unlike the other accused there was not a single allegation against him regarding corruption in any project.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2018