ISLAMABAD: Before the Supreme Court turned down the ruling coalition’s plea late on Monday evening to form a full court to hear the petition against Punjab chief minister’s election, PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry in the afternoon said his party had no objections to a full court, but they will not allow blackmailing and pressuring of the superior judiciary.

Talking to the media outside the apex court after the government leaders’ press conference earlier in the day, Mr Chaudhry even called the rulers “band masters” playing their own tunes.

“They were saying that court proceedings can be boycotted, but in the court they were speaking non-stop,” he said, adding the PML-N has a history of using pressure tactics and misdemeanour, especially in courts.

He said former law minister Farogh Naseem had to resign twice only to present his arguments in the court, but the incumbent law minster started his arguments on Monday, which showed the government feels its counsel was incompetent.

Law minister says only political party head authorised to declare party policy in view of SC verdicts

Chaudhry said the Tarar family (of Punjab minister Ataullah Tarar) was once again active in “corrupting” judges, just as their “elder Rafiq Tarrar did and which had been mentioned by former chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah too”.

He added that pressure tactics and threats could not undermine the apex court, adding strengthening the parliamentary party would be a leap forward for democracy in the country.

Former state minister Farrukh Habib said it was unfortunate that there was no proper chief minister for a province of 120 million.

“They tried to establish the government with the help of turncoats and failed. Now the entire PML-N was paying high fees to lawyers only to have a fake chief minister in Punjab,” Mr Habib taunted.

He maintained that the decisions taken by Hamza Shehbaz were all illegal and the expenses incurred on maintaining the large Punjab cabinet should be recovered from the personal account of CM Hamza.

PTI leader Maleeka Bokhari highlighted that the chief justice has the right to establish a full court over a reference, and such a decision could not be taken through “mob justice”.

Earlier, PML-N leaders, including Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar and Punjab minister Attaullah Tarar, said all the ambiguity over the issue of the CM’s election would be removed with the constitution of a full SC bench.

The law minister said presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association were also present during Monday’s proceedings and had endorsed the demand for a full court. He added that when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced, a petition was filed against the decision, however, a full court in 2015 had said it was a prerogative of the party chief to file objections to floor crossing in assemblies.

Azam Tarar said only the head of a political party was the authority to declare party policy in view of previous judgements of the apex court.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2022