Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that an attempt was made to tarnish the image of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) through an affidavit alleging that former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had accused Nawaz Sharif of the PML-N. Attempts were made to manipulate the judicial proceedings against him. Maryam Nawaz.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Friday, FM Qureshi said the affidavit stated that the former CJP had issued orders to subordinate judges.
He questioned the motive behind the affidavit, which he said came to light three years later through a story published in a newspaper.
"It was surprising that the judge who was charged was not even a member of the IHC Bench, which shows the veracity of the allegations made in the affidavit."
Without naming Nawaz, the former Prime Minister living in London these days, the External Affairs Minister said that it is also clear in which city the oath was taken. "We all need to learn from our past."
"On one hand, everyone is demanding independence of the judiciary, but they are just the opposite."
"There were attacks on the Supreme Court and an attempt was made to take a decision from Justice Qayyum but nothing proved fruitful."
He said the Rana Shamim issue was under consideration and he could not discuss it further, adding: "We all should look into it, it is a dangerous matter."
It is pertinent to mention here that the IHC on Thursday formally charged former Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Justice Rana Shamim in the affidavit he made against former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar.
Achievements in the field of foreign policy
Highlighting the achievement in the field of foreign policy, Qureshi said that the present government has given a new direction from geo-politics to geo-economics for the welfare of the people.
He said that the country's economy has now touched a growth rate of 5.37%, even though there has been a contraction in the international economies due to COVID-19.
He said that according to a World Bank survey, Pakistan's agriculture sector is growing at the rate of 3.3%. He said the country's exports and remittances have also reached record levels, while the data shows that per capita income is also increasing.
The External Affairs Minister said that despite the gas shortage, an increase in urea production has been observed, adding that the government is providing urea to farmers at much lower rates than the international market and warned that those who hoard the commodity Action will be taken against
FM Qureshi admitted that inflation is a big challenge for the public. However, he added that several international factors are behind this, including the increase in the price of gas and petroleum products in the global markets.
The External Affairs Minister said that the government welcomes criticism from the opposition, but they should not create dismay among the people as it is not in the interest of the country.
"We made painful decisions to stabilize the economy."
'Qureshi seems to be working for every ministry except himself'
PML-N General Secretary Ahsan Iqbal, taking charge of the National Assembly, said that looking at the speech of the External Affairs Minister, it seems that he works for every other ministry except himself.
“It was as if Shah Mehmood was giving an interview to someone during his speech [...] I saw Shaukat Tarin, Dr. Hafeez Sheikh and a few others in Shah Mehmood,” he said.
The PML-N leader said that FM Qureshi actually had to tell the House about the students who are stuck in Pakistan and want to go back to China for their studies - and the freign minister did not respond.
Energy Minister Hammad Azhar on his part clearly said that gas theft will not be tolerated in any part of the country.
Responding to a calling attention notice in the National Assembly on Friday, he expressed satisfaction that Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited has reduced its system losses from 12.5% to 8.5% in the last three years.
He said that there is a need to bring more reforms in SSGC. He said that the country's gas reserves are depleting at the rate of nine per cent annually.