Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-president and chief organiser Maryam Nawaz on Monday criticised the judges and accused them of playing significant role in the destruction of the country.
Addressing the protest sit-in of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the coalition parties’ outside the Supreme Court (SC), the PML-N leader demanded the resignation of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial maintaining that "free and fair elections are not possible until Bandial remain the country’s top judge”.
Maryam Nawaz said that this building (Supreme Court) before us, was supposed to be a means of delivering justice to the oppressed, bringing the powerful under the law and strengthening democracy.
She said that this building should have been a means of strengthening parliament.
“It was the responsibility of this building to maintain the sanctity of the elected prime ministers to strengthen the democracy. But the facilitators sitting in this building are murdering justice,” the PML-N chief organiser said.
She said that whenever this country saw the worse, it was due to the doctrine of necessity coming from here.
“Elected prime ministers are sent packing and some are hanged … and [these decisions] are stamped here.”
The PML-N leader said that legislation should remain the responsibility of the Parliament, stating, "It is not your [judges] responsibility to stop it.
Earlier on Monday morning, supporters of ruling alliance PDM reached outside the Supreme Court (SC) to protest against the judiciary allegedly favouring Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.
Workers of ruling alliance including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and others entered the Red Zone while the PDM’s central stage has been placed in front of the SC.
On May 12, PDM announced holding the sit-in after the apex court came to the rescue of Imran Khan who was arrested from inside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on May 9 on the order of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Addressing a press conference on Friday, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said a protest will be held "against the behaviour of the Supreme Court".
"A big sit-in will be staged to express that the Supreme Court is the mother of law, not the mother-in-law," the PDM chief said, as he called upon the supporters to reach Islamabad for the sit-in.
Earlier on Sunday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, speaking to newsmen, said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed him to meet the PDM chief and ask him to change the venue of the sit-in.
The minister said that administration had informed him that it will be very difficult to control the protest and that the information being received from security institutions was very alarming.
Later, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Rana Sanaullah met Fazlur Rehman twice but the JUI-F chief did not agree to change the venue of the protest.
It was decided that the final decision with regard to the venue will be taken on Monday morning.
On Sunday night, the Maulana Fazlur Rehman tweeted that a “peaceful” sit-in would be staged outside the top court.
Meanwhile, the JUI-F in a statement said that the PDM was firm in its choice of venue and rejected any chance of shifting the sit-in to any other location.
