Imran Khan says 'Sharif family won’t accept independent judiciary'

LAHORE: Former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said on Tuesday that the Sharif family would not accept an independent judiciary, ARY News reported.

While addressing PTI workers and supporters via video link, Imran Khan said that the rulers think that PTI would be weakened by October and later they will go for elections. He added that PTI would never weaken in October.

“Sharif family has a history and they won’t accept independent judiciary. The Sharif family is running a campaign against the judges today. It is the same PML-N [Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz] which dropped pictures from aircraft in the past.”

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Criticising the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties, Khan said that they are afraid of facing a defeat in the elections. “The government personalities are giving threats to the families of the judges and spreading fear among the people.”

“They are violating the Constitution due to fear of losing elections. They lodged 143 cases against me and made character assassination of me and my wife.”

Imran Khan termed the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict ‘historic’. He said that the nation should celebrate after the SC verdict in the election delay case ‘because they are heading to real independence’.

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“Some people in the PTI were unhappy over my decision to dissolve the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies. Some people said that they [rulers] will not conduct elections as there is uncertainty in Pakistan.”

The former premier alleged that the political rivals of PTI were imposed as the rulers after the dissolution of the provincial assemblies and PTI workers and supporters were subjected to ‘abduction and torture’.

SC verdict

The Supreme Court (SC) declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) March 22 order on Punjab elections null and void.

A three-member bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — announced the reserved verdict on the PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order postponing the elections in Punjab and KP

The Supreme Court declared the ECP’s order postponing the provincial assembly elections until October 8 as “unconstitutional” and ordered the government to release Rs21 billion funds for elections in Punjab by April 10.

The top court directed to conduct Punjab polls on May 14. The SC further directed the caretaker government in Punjab to assist the commission.