Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent “black sheep” remarks have sparked criticism from Supreme Court judges, who advised the top executive official to address his complaints through the appropriate forums.
During a hearing of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendment case, the judges responded to PM Shehbaz’s comments. Addressing an event on Tuesday, PM Shehbaz had stated: “You are Pakistanis; you are judges. If development does not return to Pakistan, then there will be no judges, no politicians, and no one else. Do you want this? I believe that most of these judges are Pakistanis and think about Pakistan’s development, but some ‘black sheep’ are helping [PTI founder] Imran Khan.”
The prime minister also mentioned that while former PM Nawaz Sharif did not receive bail during his trials, there are now discussions about granting bail to the PTI founder and dismissing his cases.
A five-member Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and including Justices Amin-ud-Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Minallah, and Hasan Azhar Rizvi, conducted the NAB amendment case hearing. During the session, Justice Mandokhail commented on the prime minister’s “black sheep” label for the judges. He observed, “If you like the decision then a judge is fine, but if you dislike the verdict, then a judge becomes black sheep.“
The Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan clarified that the PM’s remarks were not directed at the “honourable judges.” Justice Minallah expressed his frustration, humorously referring to themselves as “black bumble bees” to offer the PM the benefit of the doubt.
The judge also advised the AGP to tell the prime minister to file a formal reference against any so-called “black sheep.”
