ISLAMABAD: On Tuesday, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, minister of law and justice, criticized social media for misconstruing and completely omitting from context the remarks made by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umer Atta Bandial about the “honest prime minister.” On a point of order in the Senate, Tarar refuted the CJP’s assertions, claiming that they were misconstrued. The Attorney General’s Counsel, Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi, allegedly wrote to the Minister claiming that the remarks were reported out of context. The Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) claimed to have been present in the courtroom throughout the hearing and could attest that the Chief Justice did not claim that there had only ever been one sincere prime minister in Pakistani history.
Azam Nazir criticized Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for purposefully skipping meetings and the legislative process. The letter from the AGP claimed that “an incorrect version of certain observations by the Chief Justice of Pakistan made that day during the proceedings of Constitution petition no. 21/2022 titled Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi vs Federation of Pakistan [is] being] circulated on social media platforms.” Dr. Shahzad Waseem, the leader of the opposition in the Senate, requested once more that the government make the Punjab Assembly election schedule public. He criticized the government for, in his words, using delay strategies for declaring elections.
The opposition leader also criticized the government for raising the cost of necessities for daily living, particularly gas. In the midst of tense exchanges between Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar and Opposition Leader Senator Shahzad Waseem, the Senate session was prorogued sine die by the Senate Chairman on Tuesday without conducting any business. Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, who presided over the session, read a prorogation order that stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 54 of the Constitution, the president has been pleased to prorogue the Senate session on the conclusion of its overall business.”
