ISLAMABAD – The nomination of Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk as the caretaker prime minister of the country has set tongues wagging regarding the role of the former top judge during the twin sit-ins staged in 2014.
Interestingly, the judge in question was repeatedly named by seasoned politician Javed Hashmi who had alleged that a new government would be formed under his authority and the incumbent government (of PML-N) would be dissolved.
Hashmi had made the claims citing the statements of his former boss and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman, Imran Khan after he left the party in 2014.
“Imran Khan had predicted during the sit-in that Justice Nasirul Mulk would replace Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani and dissolve assemblies under the Supreme Court. He said a new government would then be installed with PTI emerging victorious in elections,” Javed Hashmi had reiterated in January last year.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/govt-opposition-in-new-talks-to-end-deadlock-on-caretaker-pm/
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had denied any such assertions, claiming that the sit-in was for a thorough probe into the rigging elections, instead of toppling the regime.
At one end Hashmi cast aspirations over the role of Nasirul Mulk, while on the other end, the same judge handed down verdicts, diametrically opposite to the allegations.
On August 15, 2014, then chief justice Nasirul Mulk passes an order barring all state functionaries from taking any extra-constitutional steps in the prevailing situation, providing succour to then embattled government.
Additionally, Justice Nasir was also heading the bench that had rejected the plea to disqualify then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for lying on the floor of the National Assembly.
Moreover, the judicial bigwig also accepted the task of investigating rigging claims in the last general elections along with fellow judges and after a thorough probe spanning 86 days, the outgoing CJ rejected the rigging allegations; the judge dealt a devastating blow on PTI.
He was also heading the bench which disqualified former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, after finding him guilty of contempt of court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against then president Asif Ali Zardari.
Nasirul Mulk was sworn in as the top judge of the country on July 6th, 2014 and put his gavel away on August 16, 2015; the 13-month stint was well praised by the judicial fraternity of the country because the judge exercised judicial restraint and avoided taking too many suo-moto notices.
The former top judge traces his origin to the serene valley of Swat and would be taking charge as the caretaker prime minister of the country after the incumbent government completes its stint on May 31st.
Although the allegations of Javed Hashmi have been apparently found to be unfounded as no martial law was imposed by the judge in 2014, even then the high-profile appointment has once again sparked the debate whether Hashmi’s allegations were truthful or not.
