The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has criticised the government for confusing the public about judicial matters and using the demand for the resignation of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial as a distraction from other pressing matters. During a press conference, the PTI’s senior vice-president, Fawad Chaudhry, stated that discussions about judicial benches are not the public’s issues and that elections are the solution to the problems faced by Pakistanis. Chaudhry said that the demand for the chief justice’s resignation is to divert attention from other matters and that the country is being pushed towards a political crisis. He stressed the need for dialogue to resolve issues regarding elections and called on the rulers to sit together and decide the rules of the game. Chaudhry also praised the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) political thought, stating that the party has said two positive things, namely that it refused to become part of a campaign against the judiciary and that political parties don’t end the way of dialogue.
The PPP also stressed the importance of resolving conflicting court verdicts promptly and without impinging on the judiciary’s honor and prestige. Chaudhry shared his views on Supreme Court judge Justice Athar Minallah with regard to his dissenting note and stated that all judges of the apex court are respected by his party. He also praised President Arif Alvi’s decision to return the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, curtailing the powers of the country’s chief justice.
Meanwhile, the former minister also criticised the government for the rising inflation in the country. He highlighted that the inflation rate is 34% and that many basic necessities such as vegetables, pulses, and ghee have become expensive. He noted that foreign exchange has reached $9 billion, friendly countries have refused to help, the rupee’s value has dropped, and debt has multiplied. Furthermore, industrial performance has gone negative, 50% of industries are closed, exports have declined, and several people are unemployed, while four million people have gone below the poverty line in a year’s time.
Chaudhry reiterated that dialogue is the only way forward to end the current political chaos in the country. He insisted that the government, the establishment, and the PTI had to sit together to finalise the rules of the game for elections. He emphasized that the government and rulers had to accept the people of Pakistan’s right to vote. He pointed out that free and fair elections were the only solution to the current political and economic crises.
