Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan targeted his predecessor Nawaz Sharif and the current government led by his brother Shehbaz Sharif of not allowing the independence of the judiciary.
He was referring to the government’s reaction to the Pakistan Supreme Court ruling where it asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections to the Punjab Province legislative assembly on May 14 quashing the ECP’s earlier plan to hold elections in October.
“I ask the establishment to tell me that if you have any program to take Pakistan out of this quagmire, then I am ready to wait till October. I want to repeat what I asked in the Jalsa: tell me what is your plan for the revival of our economy, for the relief of poor people?” Imran Khan said in a video message to his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), workers.
He urged party workers to take to the streets to applaud the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif, who remains barred from holding political office due to his involvement in Panama Papers case, said a reference must be filed in the Supreme Judicial Council against three judges, including Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial.
The government was unhappy with the top court ruling which junked the ECP’s plans to postpone polls until October.
He argued that elected prime ministers are being repeatedly manipulated, and this decision is a one-man show and a charge sheet against the judges.
In its recent order, the Supreme Court referred to its March 1 verdict which ruled that elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces should be held within 90 days.
The ruling, which was delivered with a 3-2 majority, was disputed by the government.
The government objected to the verdict and claimed it was 4-3 instead, citing additional notes by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah.
The judges had raised objections regarding the bench’s constitution and the invocation of the apex court’s suo motu jurisdiction by the chief justice.
It must be noted that the former prime minister is referring to the additional notes by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah.
“Dollar will become 500 rupees. Vegetables, pulses and everything will be expensive. People of Pakistan are being punished due to these decisions,” Sharif said.
World Bank Reduces Pak’s Growth Forecast
The World Bank revised down Pakistan’s economic growth forecast for the current year due to limited fiscal space and tighter financial conditions in a recent report.
The World Bank said the Pakistan economy is now to grow by 0.4%, compared to its earlier estimate of 2%.
The forecast, however, assumes that Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will finalise the bailout package.
SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad had already warned in January that growth forecast could face downward pressure.
The country’s economic and political turmoil since April last year has led to an acute balance of payments crisis, inflation at an all-time high of 35.4%, and a historically low rupee against the dollar.
The World Bank also stated that “elevated global and domestic food prices are contributing to greater food insecurity for South Asia’s poor who spend a larger share of income on food”.
The bank has lowered its 2023 regional growth forecast to 5.6% from 6.1% due to “rising interest rates and uncertainty in financial markets putting downward pressure on the region’s economies,” as the report said.
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