PTI unhappy over apex court’s verdict: SC not willing to examine our documents, says Fawad

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s senior leader and former federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry has rejected the Supreme Court’s verdict on ruling by the Deputy Speaker of National Assembly and termed it faulty for not taking into account the facts-in-issue to the decision.

He expressed these views while addressing a press conference on Thursday in response to the detailed judgment which noted that the court was not satisfied as insufficient evidence was presented to support the PTI’s claim of foreign interference.

While expressing dissatisfaction over the judgement, he said the history of Supreme Court’s decisions in Pakistan has not been glorious. “The SC judgment states that there wasn’t enough material to back the foreign conspiracy theory, but the court did not even bother to look at the evidence. Our lawyers had submitted all the material relating to the cipher, but SC was not willing to examine the documents. Moreover, we have urged the superior court to investigate the matter, but it refused to hold a debate over the matter,” he added.

He further said that President Arif Alvi also sent a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to constitute a commission to investigate the cipher, but we were still waiting for a response. “On one hand, the court was not willing to investigate the cipher and on the other hand, it was saying that we have not investigated the matter. The court should let go of contradictory stances and take one position,” he added.

He averred that the people know why the superior court was reluctant to investigate the cipher as the probe will expose the true nature of the alleged conspiracy and subsequently a debate will take place which they want to avoid.

Talking about the additional note in the verdict where a judge suggested trial under Article 6 of the Constitution, Chaudhary said that although it holds no legal importance, there would be a shortage of ropes, not necks, if trials under Article 6 were started. “When the PTI comes into power with a two-thirds majority, the verdict will be quashed,” he added.

He said the ‘legitimate parliament’ will decide the interpretation of Article 6 and the punishment for a judge or an individual violating the constitution; “conviction of judges will create problems.” “Thus, the judges should be careful on such matters. The people’s mandate should be respected and leave political matters in the hands of politicians,” they added.

“The dominant role of the establishment in political affairs was unfortunately a part of our history, but this will change in near future. With the media revolution, this paradigm was no longer sustainable. The judges and generals cannot issue orders behind closed doors; the people of Pakistan must be given the right to make their own decisions,” he said.

According to him, the establishment cannot take decisions on important policies, such as the Afghan war and the war on terror; “we cannot allow such orders anymore.”

He observed that the nation was now ready for a revolution; “it was up to ‘them’ to decide whether this revolution is to come by vote or to proceed in the style of Sri Lanka.”

He demanded an investigation into the cipher as former prime minister Imran Khan’s government was toppled through a foreign conspiracy, adding that the Chief Justice of Pakistan has the document. “If a commission does not investigate the matter then the new (PTI) government will launch an investigation into the cipher and those found involved in the conspiracy will be punished as per law,” he added.

Meanwhile, in another press conference, PTI senior leader and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser expressed strong reservations over the decision of Supreme Court. He disclosed that they have filed a review petition under Article 188. “I would request the Chief Justice of Pakistan to hear this petition at the earliest,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022