‘Dictators damaged Constitution through some judges’

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said dictators binned the Constitution for 32 years and those promising their allegiance to them watched it silently. The parliament never inflicted any wound to the Constitution and it was done only by the dictators with the help some judges, he added.

Nawaz said what kind of Constitution it was when it depended on judicial endorsement and warned that annulling a legislation passed by the parliament through whimsical interpretation would be dangerous, as it produced the threat of a clash among institutions.

In a statement, Nawaz said in case of requiring interpretation of a law passed by the parliament, the same should be sent to the legislature to remove any ambiguity.

He said the Constitution was a sacred document to run the affairs of the state and drafted by the public's elected representatives in the parliament. The parliament and other institutions should remain within their respective ambit defined by the Constitution, he added.

On the other hand, the PML-N leaders said the verdict in the Elections Act case had strengthened the narrative of Nawaz who would continue deciding the party matters. They said the wish to kill the Sharif family politics would never be fulfilled, adding that the Election Act could be nullified through the court verdict, but Nawaz would never be removed from the people’s hearts.

Saad Rafique said the government belonged to the one who lived in the people’s heart, adding that they had neither panicked in the past nor would in the future. Pervaiz Rashid said the next target was to split the party but they would not succeed in their designs, while Mushahidullah Khan said Nawaz was their saviour and leader.

Rana Sanaullah said Nawaz was their leader and no decision could break their commitment to him. The party would follow the line determined by Nawaz, he said and added that the former premier would head the PML-N parliamentary board and it did matter with whose signs tickets were issued to candidates.

"Whoever wants to be in the party will have to accept Nawaz as the final authority," he said. Marriyum Aurangzeb said they expected a similar verdict from the apex court, adding that all decisions were being announced in defence of a "weak verdict" of Nawaz's earlier disqualification as prime minister on the basis of Iqama.

The latest decision would further strengthen Nawaz’s narrative, she said. Talal Chaudhry said Nawaz did not depend upon the party leadership. "He is a popular leader who has massive public support with him," he said, adding that the decision would not lead to minus-Nawaz proposition. Talal said the parliament could make any legislation. “It is, however, a separate thing if a whole new system is to be brought in Pakistan," he added.