- Bilawal tweets ‘ATM out of order’
- Tareen sacrificed to save Imran, PTI PML-N
- PML-Q, JI for respecting verdict sans ifs and buts
- PTI terms judgments fair, but to file review petition
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has appeared unfazed by the Supreme Court’s decision that retained Chairman Imran Khan’s position and disqualified Jahangir Tareen, as it termed the verdict a fair judgment.
However, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) expressed apprehensions over the decision, saying that Jahangir Tareen was sacrificed to save Imran Khan and the PTI.
Reacting to the much-awaited verdict, pertaining to PTI chief and secretary general’s disqualification case, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) stressed the need for respecting the courts’ decisions and urged the political parties to accept the courts’ verdicts without “ifs and buts”.
PML-N
PML-N leader Daniyal Aziz reacted to the decision, saying Jahangir Tareen was sacrificed to save Imran Khan and PTI, alleging that political engineering was in play, adding that the apex court said this as well.
If the decision was fair, then Imran Khan and PTI would not be around anymore, said Aziz.
Daniyal stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been ordered to probe PTI’s foreign funding for the last five years, while in Nawaz’s case, the probe went back decades.
PTI
Talking to media after the announcement of the verdict, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry lauded the decision; however, he said that the party will file a review petition on disqualification of Jahangir Tareen.
PTI leader further said that the petitioner Hanif Abbasi lied to the court and the matter should be pursued.
While referring to the rival PML-N, the PTI leader said that the half of the party leaders have fled to London while the rest are going to follow the suit.
Fawad Chaudhry said Jahangir Tareen was disqualified on technical grounds in one of the three charges against him.
The point under which Tareen has been disqualified is a technical one. We will go for a review petition. The SC decision is 99% in favour of PTI and 1% against it. Overall the judgment has vindicated our stance, he claimed.
He went on to say that Tareen had declared his property details in his sons’ accounts but had not declared them in the election papers.
“There is no competition between Imran Khan and the Panama ‘mafia’,” he remarked.
PPP
The Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, passed an interesting comment on the decision, tweeting, “[PTI’s] ATM out of order #TareenOUT.”
Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted that as Imran Khan continued to play on and Tareen was out, and questioned will the latter ask ‘Mujay KyunNikala’ too.
PML-Q
Talking to Pakistan Today, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) Senior Vice President Ajmal Wazir said that the political parties should respect the courts’ verdicts.
He said that the ruling party should revisit its approach, as its leaders and workers were celebrating the apex court’s decision when it dismissed National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) appeal to reopen the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case.
However, the party leadership resorted to criticising the same court after two-and-a-half-hour when it declared Imran Khan eligible to contest elections, he added.
JI
Sahibzada Tariq Ullah, a JI leader in the National Assembly, said that the JI has always respected the court’s decisions and the rest of the parties should also follow the same.
He said that the JI accepted the Supreme Court’s decision of disqualifying Nawaz Sharif, and the party also welcomed the said decision, because it viewed that the court’s decisions would obviously be based on merit and justice.