ISLAMABAD: In his second letter to the top judge, former prime minister Imran Khan has urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to take notice of the “excesses” of the state and ensure the supremacy of the Constitution.
The PTI founder, who is incarcerated in Adiala Jail, listed several issues that, according to him, required the CJP’s intervention. These include the letter of the high court judges claiming meddling by intelligence officials in the judicial affairs, the May 9 cases against PTI supporters, a face-off between the army and police officials in Bahawalnagar, non-allocation of reserved seats to the PTI, the Toshakhana case against ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, and the rigging allegations levelled by the former Rawalpindi commissioner, Liaquat Chatha.
“Inaction on your part and that of the Supreme Court in the face of each of the aforementioned matters of grave importance would exacerbate the constitutional crisis the country is already faced with and push it closer and closer to the abyss,” the letter stated.
This was the second letter by Imran Khan to CJP Isa since November last year. In his previous letter, he requested the top judge to protect the party’s fundamental rights. CJP Qazi Faez Isa, in response, through a press release from his office stated that he would “neither be pressurised nor favour anyone”.
In the fresh letter, Mr Khan said the “new lows to which the state of the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution has fallen in Pakistan have caused the gradual emergence of the law of the jungle and the enactment of the primitive doctrine that might is right”.
“I have no doubt that if our Superior Judiciary, with your good-self at its helm, would not meaningfully intervene as the custodian of the Constitution and the ultimate arbiter of justice, and if the foregoing situation were to prevail, it would be fatal to any civilised order in the world,” Mr Khan feared.
About the May 9 cases, Mr Khan claimed that “the State, however, is acting as judge, jury and executioner in all these trials; first, directly through military courts, on the constitutionality of which the Supreme Court has been dragging its feet for longer than it should, and, secondly, in an indirect manner, by holding guns to the heads of the subordinate court judges who are conducting the trials.”
“As, what I believe to be the majority of our populace, faces the wrath of the State, now is the time for you to prove whether your declared belief in the principles and values espoused by Pakistan’s founding fathers, and your proclamation of the supremacy of the Constitution, are for real or were mere hollow rhetoric,” Mr Khan said.
He also reminded the CJP about the reference filed against him in the Supreme Judicial Council.
“When, a few years ago, you [CJP] were faced with the wrath of the State in the form of a reference in the Supreme Judicial Council, you waxed eloquent on various forums about how your late father was a close associate of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and how the two historic figures espoused the same principles and values. Similarly, last year, while speaking in the joint sitting of parliament…you held the Constitution in your hand in full public view, and proclaimed that this book was your guiding light after the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH),” he stated.
He ended the letter with a quote from scientist Albert Einstein: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
Bushra Bibi’s medical
In a related development, Bushra Bibi’s medical was held at Shifa International Hospital Islamabad.
The PTI alleged that the former first lady was ‘poisoned’ as shown by the check-up.
A representative of the hospital, however, said that it “does not share” information about patients because of privacy concerns.
Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2024
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