ISLAMABAD: The ruling coalition is planning a sit-in outside the Supreme Court building today (Monday) to protest what it calls the judiciary’s preferential treatment of former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
The ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) announced the sit-in on May 12 after the Supreme Court intervened to free Imran Khan, who was arrested on May 9 inside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on the order of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said at a press conference on Friday that a protest will be held “against the Supreme Court’s behaviour.”
“A big sit-in will be staged to express that the Supreme Court is the mother of law, not the mother-in-law,” Rehman said, urging supporters to travel to Islamabad for the protest.
“Every citizen of the country will travel to Islamabad on Monday and stage a peaceful protest outside the Supreme Court,” he added.
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On Sunday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told a press conference that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed him to meet with the PDM chief and request that the sit-in’s location be changed.
Sanaullah stated that the administration had informed him that controlling the protest would be extremely difficult, and that information received from security institutions was extremely concerning.
Later, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Rana Sanaullah met with Fazlur Rehman twice, but he refused to change the location of the protest. It was decided that the final venue decision would be made on Monday morning.
On Sunday night, the Maulana announced a “peaceful” sit-in outside the Supreme Court.
The JUI-F also issued a statement which said the PDM was firm in its choice of venue, with Fazl and other leaders rejecting any chance of relocating the sit-in which is supposed to continue for an indefinite period.
Despite the ruling parties’ willingness to hold the protest outside the Supreme Court, the application for permission from the relevant authorities remained pending until late at night.
In addition to the PDM leader, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, and other ruling alliance leaders are expected to speak at the sit-in.
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The ruling coalition and a section of the superior judiciary led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial have been at odds since February this year, when the top court began suo motu proceedings over the delay in announcing election dates in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
However, on May 11, a three-judge bench led by CJP Bandial ruled that the arrest of the PTI chairman from within the IHC was illegal.
The bench also ordered that the PTI chief be given foolproof security and that he stay as a guest at the Police Lines Guest House until he appears in the IHC to finish the process of applying for bail in various cases, including the NAB case in which he was arrested.
On May 12, the IHC also granted Imran bail, ordering authorities not to arrest him in any case, pending or new, until May 17.
Imran’s release after a brief detention on the order of the Supreme Court was seen as a major setback for the ruling alliance, which had hoped to use the arrest to boost its political capital but found itself on the defensive once more, lamenting that the PTI had once again received preferential treatment from judges.
Following that, the PDM chief declared a sit-in outside the Supreme Court. The federal cabinet, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, also condemned the CJP’s “extraordinary intervention” in Imran’s arrest.
The cabinet not only deemed the intervention as “misconduct” on the part of the top judge but opined that Imran’s arrest was carried out in line with the Constitution, law, and legal procedures in an “open and shut case of corruption and corrupt practices”.
The government has since issued a number of statements and held press conferences condemning the CJP. CJP Bandial, according to Maryam Nawaz, should officially join the PTI.
The call to protest follows the PTI’s call to express solidarity with the CJP.
Political observers noted that the protest call exposed the government’s double standards, as the PDM is holding the protest against the SC judges just days after the capital’s administration refused to grant the PTI protestors permission to hold rallies in the city, claiming Section 144 was enforced.
Neither the information minister nor the police or other authorities involved responded to questions about obtaining permission for the protest or whether Section 144 had been quietly lifted.
