Hundreds of supporters of Pakistan’s ruling alliance are holding a sit-in protest outside Pakistan’s Supreme Court to protest against alleged “undue favours” shown by the judiciary towards former Prime Minister Imran Khan in recent days.
Monday’s protest was mainly led by the JamiatUlema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) party – one of the 13 members of Pakistan’s ruling coalition, the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
Government supporters also broke through the main entrance of the capital’s high-security Red Zone which houses prominent state offices, including the parliament.
Inside the parliament, the ruling alliance on Monday passed a resolution against Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on charges of “misconduct”.
The rare passage of a resolution against the top judge in parliament and protests by pro-government supporters outside follow accusations by Pakistan’s ruling parties that the country’s judiciary is “biased” towards Khan, their main political opponent.
While tensions between the government and the judiciary began earlier this year over holding provincial elections, they have intensified since May 9 when the Supreme Court declared Khan’s dramatic arrest in a corruption case “illegal”, clearing the way for his two-week bail and eventual release on May 12.
The 70-year-old chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was also granted protection from further arrest until later this month.
On Monday, another court in the eastern city of Lahore granted bail to Khan’s wife until May 23 in the same case in which the PTI chief was arrested.
Bushra Bibi is a co-accused along with her husband in the Al-Qadir Trust case. The couple is accused of receiving financial help from a land developer to establish a university in which they are trustees.
Chairing a cabinet meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said while other politicians faced trials and tough handling by the courts, Khan was given a “privileged treatment”, calling it a “death of justice”.
“When he was presented in court yesterday [May 11], the chief justice said it is good to see you. He said this in a case of corruption. If you want to keep favouringthis laadla [pampered in Urdu], then you should also release all the dacoits behind bars in the country. Let this be a free for all,” Sharif said.
“These are the double standards of justice,” he added.
On Sunday, federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told Al Jazeera Khan was “invited” to the court for a hearing and not summoned.
“[When] we were jailed on false cases, our hearing was never heard in the court for a year, for eight months, for six months but Mr Khan did not go to the court, Mr Khan was invited to the court in a Mercedes Benz,” she said.
“When Mr Khan went there … the Supreme Court gave him bail and said it was really happy to see him and then wished him good luck.”
Aurangzeb said the Islamabad High Court, which granted the two-week bail to Khan on Friday, was “under the influence of the Supreme Court”.
“He [Khan] can’t be arrested in any other case in any new investigation, the existing cases are all shut down or given bails. Where does this happen,” she told Al Jazeera.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, a senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and niece of Prime Minister Sharif, said Chief Justice Bandial was the “most responsible” for the deadly riots that broke out after Khan’s arrest.
“You should leave the post of the chief justice and join [Khan’s party],” she tweeted last week.
In the many rallies that Khan has held to demand early elections since his removal from power more than a year ago, he has lauded the Supreme Court and called Bandial his “only hope” for saving the country’s constitution.
Bandial’s tenure as chief justice ends in September this year.
Reza Ali, a constitutional expert, said it was not clear what the ruling alliance was trying to achieve by attacking the top court.
“If they think it will force the chief justice to take a step back, I don’t think it will happen. Instead, it will have an opposite impact. This might end up uniting the court and all the polarisation that we hear about in the ranks [of the judiciary], it may entirely end,” he told Al Jazeera.
A Dawn report adds: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Monday remained hopeful that talks between the coalition government and the PTI could end the stalemate on holding elections in the country.
The matter came under discussion as a three-member bench heard the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) plea asking the top court to revisit its April 4 order of holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
The petition was heard a day after the court-ordered election deadline lapsed and the same day that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is staging a protest outside the SC against the judiciary for allegedly favouring PTI chief Imran Khan.
The bench comprised Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar, the same bench that had issued the order for holding elections in Punjab on May 14.
During the hearing, the CJP observed that the electoral watchdog had raised the issue of funds and security previously. “[But] today, the ECP has raised a question [mark] regarding the court’s jurisdiction,” he said.
He further said that the ECP had earlier contended before the court that it would conduct elections once funds were issued. “Now, the election commission has opened a Pandora’s box,” he said, questioning whether the ECP could raise points which were not raised before.
PTI lawyer Ali Zafar contended before the court that the scope of a review petition was limited. “New points can’t be raised in a review petition,” he pointed out.
Calling on the court to enforce its April 4 order, Zafar said May 14 had passed and the Constitution had been “murdered”, adding that the caretaker governments in Punjab and KP were “unconstitutional”.
“The order will be implemented once it is finalised,” the CJP responded.
The CJP then said that the court wanted to hear the ECP’s arguments on the maintainability of the petition. He said that notices would also be issued to the provincial governments and other political parties.
Justice Bandial further said that the manner in which political powers were operating “is not correct”.
“People are losing their lives. Institutions are facing risks and threats,” he said. “My advice to everyone is to play a role in bringing about a peaceful environment.”
In an apparent reference to the protesters gathered outside the SC, Justice Bandial said, “Look at the situation outside the SC. What is happening outside, who will implement the Constitution?”
