Differences with some judges, not Supreme Court: Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday that he has no differences with the Supreme Court but with certain judges who did not decide [his case] on merit.

He made the remarks while meeting a group of lawyers led by Naseer Bhutta in the presence of Maryam Nawaz, Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana and PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.

"Judges welcomed every martial law. Whenever there was a military coup in the country, no one would know about it but this is not the case today," said Nawaz.

The three-time prime minister demanded a trial for military dictators, in the same way that he was tried in the Supreme Court. 

"We have to see what happened to people in 1971, when the country was broken up into two. They were the same people who worked day and night with Quaid-e-Azam to create Pakistan. Even today such games are being played," said the former prime minister.

Nawaz further said that 'we are all responsible' for not raising our voices against 'the judiciary when it gave [military] dictators the right to make changes to the Constitution.'

"They [judges] gave away the right that they themselves don’t have," he stressed, adding that the entire nation is now witness to Pakistan's situation Pakistan today.

"US President Donald Trump has used insulting language in a recent statement about Pakistan. Can a country with any self-respect tolerate such statements from another country’s president?" said the former premier. 

"We have been humiliated by [that statement] and we should try to find the reason why were humiliated." 

"Why is another country’s president using such terms for a sovereign country while we have become [mere] spectators. Today, more than ever before, we need to reflect on our own past and try to find out the reasons of such [verbal] attacks on Pakistan –a sovereign country."

Nawaz said that the nation should compare Pakistan's situation with other countries in the region.

"I believe, in Central Asia or South Asia or even the entire world, we are the only country that has had to listen to such terms used against us. We need to reflect upon our own doings to find out why we are being treated this way."

The PML-N leader said that the reasons for Pakistan's treatment are right in front of us.

"The reasons are right in front of us, they are written on a wall. We know our history of 70 years, the stages we have passed, all that we have lost, and how we have abrogated our Constitution," he said. 

"We know how our judicial system welcomed dictators and martial law administrators and invented the doctrine of necessity and yet we never held [anyone] accountable."

Nawaz continued to say that the nations that do not hold [their own self] accountable with time are attacked [the way Pakistan was in Trump's recent statement]. 

"The attackers understand that such countries will not be affected by whatever they are told, but this is not the way dignified nations operate."  

The PML-N chief claimed that he is not accused of even a single rupee worth of corruption, adding that he was held accountable from his college days. "And when nothing came up they made Iqama [foreign work permit] the reason of disqualification instead of Panama," said Nawaz.

Nawaz lamented that PTI chief Imran Khan’s five-year record was deemed enough [during his disqualification case in the Supreme Court] while his record from his school days from 1962 was sought.

He added that he respects the courts and asks that they respect other institutions in return. 

Earlier, while meeting party workers, Nawaz said that judges should speak through their judgments.

The former premier, in his talk, also said that a campaign of revenge has been launched against him, adding that, "I will face every conspiracy".

The PML-N chief also stated that the standard of justice should be the same for everyone.

"The country should benefit from the sacrifices that I have rendered," he added. 

"You say that I should shut down the Orange Line [project] but it is already closed thanks to you," Nawaz lashed out. "You should definitely visit hospitals but then, also observe what is happening in the courts." 

"The way I was treated in the past...such treatment turns leaders into rebels," said the former premier. "Let me forget my treatment in the past and not give me new wounds."

The former prime minister also said that he believes in the supremacy of the Constitution. 

Nawaz arrived at Punjab House earlier after attending the corruption hearing against him in the accountability court.