LAHORE: Leading lawyer and PPP stalwart Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers should be tried in anti-terrorist courts.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, he said the army chief was not getting the appropriate advice on the incidents of May 9, saying that the courts would not allow the trial of political workers in military courts. He said someone should advise the army chief on the idea of military courts, saying that the Supreme Court had rejected the same back in 90s when Nawaz Sharif had planned to constitute military courts to carry out trials.
In 2016, he said, the then government had to amend the law with a sunset clause to constitute military courts in the backdrop of the attack on the Army Public School (APS). This law had expired automatically in 2019, he added.
Aitzaz also criticized the Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab for spreading disinformation about May 9 incidents. According to him, the IGP should remember that the court would not accept edited video clips concerning May 9 incidents. The unedited video clips would also expose Gullu Butts ransacking Corps Commander House, he added.
Also, he criticized the IG for misguiding the public on the concept of geo-fencing, saying that many of the arrested workers of PTI had nothing to do with the incident. Still, the Punjab government was targeting to gain politically.
He said the vote bank of Imran Khan is intact despite all the pressure tactics used against him and his party.
He also clarified that all the V-logs claiming that Aitzaz was not allowed to enter Zardari House last night were false. He demanded the airing of video clips of any such incident if the propagandists had any. He said there was no truth in this propaganda, and the movers should come up with video footage to substantiate their claims.
Aitzaz rejected another video claiming that Imran Khan, Aitzaz Ahsan and Chief Justice Bandial were distributing funds among lawyers to launch a protest movement.
He also expressed his wonders over the reaction of the caretaker information minister of the Punjab government over the bail extended to Ch Parvaiz Elahi by the courts. He said there was no justification in criticizing the judge for posting pictures of Imran Khan on his Facebook page.
Similarly, he said, there was no substance in the audio tap of the mother-in-law of Chief Justice Bandial, as mothers-in-law often extend blessings to their sons-in-law in our culture.
However, he expressed his displeasure over the delay in announcing the verdict by the Chief Justice over the holding of elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the provincial assemblies. According to him, the Chief Justice should not delay his verdict till the government and the PTI come to an amicable date for holding elections.
According to him, Nawaz Sharif was ruling Pakistan from London, and no deal with IMF or passage of the next budget would be possible without his approval.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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