Judiciary should be held accountable for "unconstitutional, illegal actions" in 75 years: Pak Defence Minister

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 8 : The ongoing rift between the Pakistan government and the Supreme Court escalated after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that the judiciary should be held accountable for illegal and unconstitutional steps taken during the past 75 years, Geo News reported.

The tussle between the legislature and the judiciary started in April after the Supreme Court called the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to postpone Punjab Assembly polls till October 8 as unconstitutional and fixed May 14 as the date for general elections in the province.

Speaking to reporters in London, Khawaja Asif said, "All the unconstitutional and illegal actions taken in the past 75 years, especially by the judiciary, should be held accountable," as per the Geo News report.

He made the statement in response to a question regarding justice for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif who has been living in London on medical grounds since 2019. Nawaz Sharif stepped down after being disqualified from holding public office by the Supreme Court in a decision on the Panama Papers case in July 2017.

In response to a question regarding his speech in the Pakistan National Assembly on May 2, Khawaja Asif stressed that it was his duty to defend parliament. He further said, "The best solution to the crisis is that all the institutions should work within the ambit of the Constitution," as per the Geo News report. He stated that the judges who sentenced Nawaz Sharif would be called into the parliament's dock.

Earlier on May 2, Khawaja Asif while addressing the National Assembly session said that the judiciary should be made accountable for former Pakistan prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's case and disqualifying two Nawaz Sharif and Yousuf Raza Gil from holding public office, as per the news report.

His statement comes amid fears of contempt proceedings against Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif amid ongoing tensions between the government and judiciary over multiple issues, including the date of holding the election. His statement came after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial said that the political parties wanted to "pick and choose" the bench for "desired benches."

Meanwhile, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar was an agent of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Sharif said that Nisar worked as an activist and an agent of the Imran Khan-led party during his tenure as the Chief Justice of Pakistan, reported Geo News.

Shehbaz Sharif said that Saqib Nisar had played a key role in the disqualification of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on the basis of completely baseless and false allegations, as per the Geo News report. He said that Saqib Nisar ran a vindictive campaign against the PML-N in order to bring Imran Khan into power through a rigged election he presided over.

He said that the former Chief Justice used suo motu notices for his personal and political interests and not for the public interest, as per the news report. He said that the audio leak of the former CJP's son Najam Saqib showcases that there was a conspiracy to bring Imran Khan to power in which Saqib Nisar was involved.

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