People set aside judicial verdict in NA-120: Rana Sana

LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said Tuesday people's verdict had set aside the Supreme Court's decision in the Panama Papers case. Addressing a press conference in the aftermath of the NA-120 by-poll, Rana Sanaullah said that Nawaz Sharif had accepted the judicial verdict which was not a scripture demanding faith in it. 

The minister claimed that scientific means were employed to divide the votes of the PML-N.  “Imran Khan dragged the Supreme Court in front of us as a political party in NA-120 elections which is a dangerous narrative. This could have been undone by a simple clarification/direction from the Registrar of the Supreme Court that the court is not a party to any political activity,” the minister said, adding it was strange such a clarification was not issued. He was referring to PTI chairman's reported statement that PML-N's NA-120 victory with a low margin showed people stand with the Supreme Court.

"To say that Supreme Court judges were offered money is a contempt of court, it is also contemptuous to say vote for a particular party is like vote for the Supreme Court," said the Punjab Law Minister. He requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to ensure the apex court's sanctity is upheld and the Supreme Court is not used for political purposes by anyone.

Referring to “headlines against him and the PML-N” regarding the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, Sanaullah said any news before election day affects the poll,. He claimed Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed said the Supreme Court judges were offered billions [by the government], saying that, “I think the judges who made decision are so respectable that no one can dare bribe them,” adding he personally knew many of them since their law practice days.

He said Sh Rasheed, whom he referred to as Pindi ka Shaitan, should be questioned in this regard.  He said that though all the methods were used to scare people away from polling, the voter turnout was almost 40 per cent which was highest from by-election standards. He contended that had the voting time been extended beyond 5pm, the turnout would have been 50 per cent. He admired Maryam Nawaz for running a successful campaign for the by-election, and said there was nothing controversial in Maryam’s victory speech. He added she conveyed the party leader’s message during the campaign. He asked Imran, Rasheed and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq to accept that the people had rejected the Supreme Court’s verdict and accepted Nawaz and his stance.