ISLAMABAD: Pandemonium reigned the Senate on Tuesday over a letter pinned by the recently-appointed Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Shehzad Ata Elahi, clarifying that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial’s ‘honest premier’ remarks were misconstrued.
The chaotic session of the upper house of parliament resumed with Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair wherein the incumbent Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members came face to face.
The pandemonium in the House occurred over the letter written by AGP Elahi to Law Minister Nazir Tarar regarding the CJP remarks.
In the letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the AGP had urged the law minister to share correct facts in this regard with fellow parliamentarians for setting the record straight, stating that the observation regarding CJP’s remarks was “incorrect”.
He had stated that he was present in the court during the hearing and can confirm that no such remark on the honesty of the prime ministers of Pakistan was made by the apex court chief justice.
“The CJP went on to comment on the then deposed Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Khan Junejo being a very good and independent man who was removed through Article 58(2)(b),” the AGP had clarified.
Elahi added that the observation, that Junejo was the “only honest premier” of the country, seems to have “been misconstrued and misstated”.
The clarification had come a week after the upper house had witnessed a heated debate between the treasury and the opposition members as both locked horns over CJP Bandial’s “remarks” during a hearing on the appeal against the NAB law amendments.
As the session began today, Senator Raza Rabbani protested the attorney general’s letter.
Tarar detailed that the AGP explained the matter because he was present in the court and that Chief Justice Bandial’s comment about one honest premier was “social” and taken out of context on social media.
Senator Rabbani argued that if the AGP was so supportive of the Parliament and the judiciary, then he should defend the parliament when it is being attacked by the court. He added that a letter should be written to the AG on the matter.
PTI Senator Shehzad Waseem said that the AGP was correcting who was honest and who was not. He added that the court had said that the Parliament is incomplete and that the House had pushed a big party – the PTI – against the wall.
Senator Waseem stated that if the Parliament wanted to follow the Constitution it should hold elections.
The law minister questioned how the elections would work after the PTI sat in the lodges for eight months and protested when its resignations were accepted. He urged the former ruling party to look within.
Subsequently, the Senate session was adjourned indefinitely.
