'Name the establishment': Imran Khan's lawyer calls Kamran Shahid out for 'censoring' his words

Incarcerated former premier Imran Khan’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry took a witty jab at talk show host Kamran Shahid for using the word "system" to refer to the establishment. 

During the talk show, the TV host said, “You [PTI leadership] seem helpless, and the system looks strong.” In reply, Chaudhry mocked Shahid by saying, “What is the 'system'? Call it the establishment, which is involved in court packing.”

In reply, the TV host said, “Let’s say it in this manner: the establishment is looking strong (sic).”
Imran Khan’s counsel went on to tell Shahid that systems are meant for democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law, which do not exist in Pakistan.

Stressing that the recently passed 26th Constitutional Amendment was against the judiciary, Chaudhry opined that clauses related to the judiciary were focused on dividing the courts.

The TV host asked why Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was unable to mobilise all lawyer's associations for Monday's protests against a controversial meeting of the Judicial Commission Pakistan (JCP) which took place yesterday. Chaudhry replied that a significant number of lawyers were present in the demonstration at the federal capital.

“They [lawyers] did not sit there but ended the protest [shortly]?” said Shahid. “[lawyers] were not present to engage in war but to protest. The protest did not intend to stage a sit-in there,” Chaudhry responded.

Lawyers on Monday had orchestrated a protest in Islamabad, demanding the JCP meeting scheduled on the same day be called off, no new judicial appointments be made till the case pertaining to the amendment is decided upon and the senior-most judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) be made its chief justice.

 
Six leading bar associations, including representatives of the Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Punjab Bar Council, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, Balochistan High Court Bar Association, and Sindh High Court Bar Association, have condemned the protests, saying that political groups within the legal community were attempting to advance their agendas.

 
Despite PTI lawmakers boycotting the JCP meeting and the lawyer's protest at the federal capital, the JCP nominated six high court judges for elevation to the Supreme Court.

 
The judges elevated to the apex court include four high court chief justices: Hashim Khan Kakar of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui of the Sindh High Court (SHC), Ishtiaq Ibrahim of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), and Aamer Farooq of the IHC.

Additionally, SHC Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and PHC Justice Shakeel Ahmed were also nominated for elevation to the Supreme Court.