LAHORE: The PML-N, which recently was showering praise on the judiciary for providing ‘expeditious justice’ to its convicted supreme leader Nawaz Sharif in corruption cases, on Saturday turned its guns on the apex court for providing “certificate of innocence” to PTI founder Imran Khan in the cipher case.

On Friday, the Supreme Court granted post-arrest bail to PTI leaders Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case.

Reacting strongly to the SC decision at separate pre­ss conferences, PML-N’s central information sec­retary Marriyum Aura­ngzeb, Malik Ahmad Khan and former minister Moh­sin Shahnawaz Ranjah taunted that “Imran is now being portrayed as innocent”.

Since his arrival from London on Oct 21 after a four-year self-imposed exile, Nawaz Sharif has been given VVIP protocol from the caretaker governments at the Centre and in Punjab, while his convictions in Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases have been set aside by the Islamabad High Court after a few hearings.

Mr Sharif praised the judiciary for giving him “swift justice” in what he called fake cases instituted as part of a conspiracy to oust him from power in 2017.

Before assuming the charge of Chief Justice of Pakistan by Qazi Faez Isa in September, the PML-N leaders had been taking on the apex court judges for allegedly favouring Imran Khan in different cases.

PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz had even displayed the portrait of a couple of sitting SC judges making different allegations against them at a public rally. However, no contempt of case was initiated against her.

On Saturday, the PML-N showed its intent to again target the judiciary in the wake of relief provided to its rival Imran Khan.

“Efforts are afoot to impose Imran Khan again by presenting him innocent, but the people will not let it happen,” Ms Auranzeb said, wondering how the culprits of May 9 events could be innocent.

She also asked why Mr Khan could not appear before courts in the cases like Al-Qadir Trust, while Nawaz Sharif happened to attend a number of court proceedings in “fake cases”. “Today the country’s criminal is being presented as innocent to save him, which is unfair,” she decried and declared come what may, Nawaz Sharif would take part in the Feb 8 polls.

Malik Ahmad Khan said that after the SC decision in the cipher case, it had become known who was ‘favourite’. “We respect the SC’s decision but there are questions on changing the jurisdiction of the court, in this case,” he said, warning that there would be repercussions of such decisions. “The judges’ comments (during the hearing of Imran Khan’s bail petition) may influence the proceedings of cipher case in the trial court,” he said.

The PML-N leader welcomed the Election Commission’s decision to declare PTI’s intra-party polls unconstitutional.

Mohsin Ranjah said the act of awarding ‘Sadiq (truthful) and Ameen (righteous)’ certificate to a person (Imran Khan) had been going on for quite sometimes. “The judges are giving a certificate of innocent to a person who had been declared controversial. This is injustice to the people,” he said, adding that the PML-N would accept courts’ decisions but had the right to express its reservations.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2023