Senate witnesses uproar after newly appointed AGP’s clarification of CJP’s remarks

ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (SABAH): Upper House of Parliament on Tuesday witnessed an uproar following recently appointed Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Shehzad Ata Elahi’s clarification of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial’s ‘honest premier’ remark.

Senate Chairman Mir Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani presided over a meeting wherein the incumbent Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members came face to face. The chaos in the House occurred over the letter written by AGP Elahi to Law Minister Nazir Nazeer Tarar Advocate regarding the CJP remarks.

In the letter, the AGP 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 Muhammad Khan 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 on Tuesday, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani protested the attorney general’s letter.

Azam Nazeer 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.