LAHORE - Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan Monday stated that there was evidence suggesting that some honorable members of the judiciary were advising a political party to prepare for early elections. At a press conference in the Old Building of the Punjab Assembly, the speaker said that evidence had surfaced that certain elements from within the judiciary were encouraging a political party to prepare for early elections.
“I can reveal how conspiracies between politicians and the judiciary are hatched”, he said, adding that the conspiracy which began in 2014, continues to this day. He went on to say: “Were the laws not disregarded in the courts of Saqib Nisar and Umar Ata Bandial?”. He emphasized that the Election Commission must implement the law passed by the Parliament and not the court orders. “Judicial monarchy has replaced democracy, where democracy was meant to thrive,” he observed.
The speaker said that if he were in power, he would have filed fraud charges against ex-Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri and initiated Article 6 cases against the founder of PTI and former President Arif Alvi. He further stated that a group believed that rioting was their constitutional right. He said conspiracies to remove the government are still underway. These are the same people who camped in Islamabad during the Chinese President’s visit in 2014.” He stressed that violent protests must be addressed according to the law. Malik Ahmad Khan also expressed frustration over being required to convene assembly sessions every 14 days on opposition’s requisition. “I have no bias toward either the government or the opposition, yet I remain a target of criticism,”he remarked.
Speaking in the context of PTI’s ongoing protest movement, the Speaker questioned whether a province has the right to launch an assault on the federal capital with cranes and an armed police force. d.
Ahmad Khan mentioned that the Shanghai Cooperation Conference will take place tomorrow. “If the government and state cannot stop a few miscreants, only God can help them. The government must clearly distinguish between peaceful protests and lawlessness. If a member of the assembly is involved in vandalism, how can they not be stopped?”
The speaker stated that he had advised the Leader of the Opposition that protests should be peaceful. “If not, let me know whether they plan to stage a protest similar to the events of May 9, where military installations, Radio Pakistan, and public and private property were damaged.” He added that the violent protests in Mianwali resulted in the burning of criminal court records, including those related to section 302 cases. Trials of suspects involved in over 400 murder cases came to a halt. The speaker urged the government to act against these miscreants, asserting, “If protest is a constitutional right, there must also be limits.” He highlighted that the protests included burning bank buildings and desecrating the statues of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country. “The state is not helpless against a handful of individuals. Such actions cannot occur without a foreign agenda,” he remarked. In his concluding remarks, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan reiterated that the government must clearly differentiate between peaceful protests and anarchy.