Former prime minister Imran Khan has called on the Supreme Court to hear the corruption cases filed against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz, as he praised the apex court for its verdict on Article 63-A of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a split 3-2 decision, announced today (Tuesday) that in case of a vote in a legislature, the votes of parliamentarians switching loyalties cannot be counted.
Through this decision, the election of Hamza Shahbaz becomes murky, as several dissident PTI members cast votes for him. However, no PTI member had voted for PM Shehbaz, keeping his premiership secure.
Khan, in a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally in Kohat today was full of praise for the Supreme Court, saying that by giving this verdict, the court had preserved Pakistan’s morality.
“I am thankful that the Supreme Court rejected the votes of the people who sell their vote and betray their constituents and democracy,” the PTI chairperson said.
He then urged the Supreme Court to hear the corruption cases against PM Shehbaz Sharif and his family. He mentioned that they had ‘destroyed’ the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Khan recalled that the former FIA director Dr Mohammad Rizwan had recently passed away due to a heart attack, as had another official who was also investigating the Sharif corruption case. He urged the Supreme Court to take notice of this and claimed that failure to do so would be the equivalent of ‘daylight robbery’.
Khan said that the cases against Shehbaz were withdrawn when he became prime minister, and the same thing happened with Hamza as the PML-N president had “FIA officials probing their cases finished”.
However this had been proven to be false as a statement released by the FIA stated that the corruption cases against Shehbaz Sharif had not been withdrawn and proceedings were still taking place.
“Supreme Court judges, it is your responsibility to hear their cases,” he said.
