LAHORE: Lahore Istiqlal Party leader Syed Manzoor Gillani, in a press conference, has said that the Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify Nawaz Sharif exceeds the limits of Constitution, and can be invalidated by the Parliament.
He said that PTI chief Imran Khan and PAT chairman Tahir-ul-Qadri not only supported the treason of Pervez Musharraf but also took part in the unconstitutional referendum held in 2002. He said that Imran Khan, instead of apologising to the nation, talked about a third umpire in 2014 and attacked both Parliament houses, for which he can be charged with Article 6.
Syed Manzoor Gillani further said that the Parliament can invalidate the decision of Supreme Court to oust Nawaz Sharif from public office, for which “we have written a letter to the National Assembly speaker, but no action has yet been taken.”
The present situation of the country was also discussed in the press conference. Gillani said that “we still respect the Charter of Democracy, which both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto treated like a piece of paper and are now paying for it.” He added that Article 62 and 63 require amendments, “an objective which we have incorporated into our agenda.” He said that all state institutions, including the military, are subservient to the Parliament but due to weak politicians, Parliament has been rendered ineffective.
He said that the public has rejected the July 28 verdict – a condemnable decision taken outside of constitutional limits; all five judges should resign and apologise to the nation. He said that the character and commitment of every judge can be criticised by the public, and that it’s Nawaz Sharif’s right to object to the decision.
He further said that politicians holding dual nationality have no right to either contest elections or cast votes because they have pledged allegiance to another flag. He added that all those judges that protected and sanctioned all unconstitutional acts throughout history need to be charged with Article 6 of the Constitution as well.
He conclusively said that Istiqlal Party will strongly participate in General Elections of 2018. The beginning of the electoral campaign was announced on the occasion as well.