RAWALPINDI: PTI leader Aliya Hamza alleged that the 26th Constitutional Amendment has sidelined the judiciary.
Speaking to the media outside an anti-terrorism court, where she appeared for a hearing, she criticised the judicial process and the government’s handling of national affairs.
Hamza, who is also the PTI organizer for Punjab, said that each time her party stages a protest, they face legal cases. “One day we are in Rawalpindi courts, the next day in Sargodha,” she remarked.
She mocked the government’s position, saying, “If these rulers had public support, they wouldn’t be walking a tightrope,” she said, adding that inflation has led to a 30% drop in sacrificial animal purchases this year.
Hamza further criticised the state of the judiciary. She alleged that judges and prosecutors remain absent and reiterated that the 26th Amendment had sidelined the judiciary. “We will continue our fight for the rule of law,” she asserted.
Describing the current rulers as a “curse imposed on the nation,” Hamza pointed to growing unemployment, stating that 18 million youth are now jobless and that the federal budget has caused further devastation. PTI, she said, will now take its case to the people and the farmers.
She announced that the party would set up mock assemblies outside the Parliament and Punjab Assembly using Form-45s, protesting what she called the theft of the public mandate. “PTI is a peaceful political party. During our 126-day sit-in, not even a flowerpot was broken,” she said. “We will show the world that we stand for constitutionalism and the rule of law.”
Hamza concluded by vowing to free what she termed a “captive judiciary” and restore democracy.
She recalled that on November 26, PTI workers faced firing during a protest. “In Sambarial, all the lights were switched off during our demonstration. We chose to end the protest peacefully.” –Agencies
