Islamabad: Speaking on floor of National Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly criticised remarks about lawmakers made by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial during recent Supreme Court hearing on postponement of polls. Addressing NA session, he said that, during recent Supreme Court proceedings, Honourable Chief Justice had remarked that some people who have previously gone to jail are making speeches in National Assembly.

Shehbaz accused former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his collaborators of framing false cases against him and attempting to implicate him in those fabricated cases. “Imran [Khan] Niazi had nothing else to do [during his time as PM]. He had only one objective and he spent all his energy on trying to put opposition leaders in jail.  I was one of them. Imran Niazi sent me to jail not once, but twice. And he was prepared to send me to jail for third time,” he said.

He said that high court had granted him bail on merit first time he was jailed. “This was during Imran Niazi’s tenure [as PM], and he had it challenged in Supreme Court.”

He said that Imran’s friend, lawyer Naeem Bokhari, filed petition in apex court to dismiss his bail. “But then, after court’s remarks [asking for justification to dismiss bail], Naeem Bokhari withdrew petition and ran away.” Second time, he said that full bench of LHC granted him bail again when Imran sent him to jail through “His nexus with National Accountability Bureau”.

He said that each time he was released on merit and was now standing in Parliament by grace of Allah. “My crime was that, I was following] my party leader Nawaz Sharif and as leader of then-opposition, we were countering ill-devised policies of PTI government and voiced our opposition. But Imran Niazi did not accept it.

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 04 2023

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