ISLAMABAD: The PTI has chastised the government over changes to laws regarding the judiciary and the army, saying these legislations would come back to bite the ruling coalition.

Addressing the media after the two bills were passed on Monday, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said his party rejected the legislation that hadn’t even been sent to the respective committees for discussion.

“I am sure that no federal minister, apart from the law minister, was aware of the content of the bills,” claimed Mr Khan.

He noted that the number of Supreme Court judges has been increased to 33, which is the same as the strength of judges in the apex court of India, which has a population of 1.4 billion.

Gohar says ruling coalition wants ‘pliant’ judges in top court; party ‘mulling to challenge amendments’

He said the government wants to appoint judges who’d run the Supreme Court “according to their wish”.

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“They [the government] are at fault because when one pillar of the state is weakened, the whole state gets weak,” Mr Khan warned.

He said the government is trying to establish a “Malik Qayyum-like court”.

He was referring to Lahore High Court’s former judge, Malik Muhammad Qayyum, who had to resign after his telephone conversation with Shehbaz Sharif was leaked. He was found to be biased against the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, whom he convicted “at the behest of the PML-N government”.

The PTI chairman said the parliament has been turned into a “rubber stamp” and the legislation has pushed the country towards monarchy.

He said his party would consider approaching the Supreme Court against the amendments.

National Assembly Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub Khan said the legislation regarding the armed forces would disrupt their organisational structures.

He added that every year, two batches of cadets pass out from the academies of the army, navy, and air force.

They hope to become a four-star officer someday, but increasing the tenure of the three service chiefs from three to five years “will deprive many officers of their promotion”.

He added that the readily changing technology changes would also leave a huge gap between chiefs and officers under them.

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The PTI leaders were also asked about their government’s decision to give an extension to former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2019.

In reply, Mr Khan said the decision was necessitated as the matter was sent to the Supreme Court, and the three-year extension was granted as per the court’s directions.

No meeting with Imran

Mr Ayub claimed that PTI leaders weren’t being allowed to meet their incarcerated leader, Imran Khan.

“Cases are being registered against PTI leaders. I want to warn that PML-N and PPP will suffer because of the laws which have been passed by the incumbent government. They will not find an escape route,” he said.

Before the NA session on Monday, PTI’s parliamentary party decided to vigorously oppose the proposed bills.

Mr Ayub, Mr Khan and other party leaders, including Zartaj Gul and Sheikh Waqas Akram, participated in the meeting.

Mr Akram, PTI’s central information secretary, said the parliamentary party chalked out an effective strategy to hold protests against the legislation inside and outside the parliament.

The party leaders also condemned the arrest of PTI workers and demanded that the detained supporters should be released.

Mr Akram also denied the speculations about a deal with the establishment to pave the way for the release of PTI’s incarcerated founder.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2024