Supreme Court Judges Address PM Shehbaz Sharif’s Controversial “Black Sheep” Remarks

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent “black sheep remarks” have drawn the ire of Supreme Court judges. They asked the top executive to approach relevant forums if he had complaints.

The judges’ comments came during the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendment case hearing.

Addressing an event on Tuesday, PM Shehbaz said: “You are Pakistanis; you are judges. If development does not return to Pakistan, there will be no judges, politicians, or others. Do you want this? I believe most judges are Pakistanis and think about Pakistan’s development, but some ‘black sheep’ are helping [PTI founder] Imran Khan.”

Judges Reaction

The NAB amendment case hearing was conducted by a five-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Minallah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi.

During the hearing, Justice Mandokhail, interacting with Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, observed that the prime minister labelled the judges “black sheep.”

“If you like the decision, then a judge is fine, but if you dislike the verdict, then a judge becomes a black sheep,” Justice Mandokhail remarked.

In response, the AGP clarified that the PM did not label the “honourable judges” as black sheep. “This [black sheep remarks] was not aimed at incumbent judges,” the AGP added.

Justice Minallah expressed annoyance over the remarks, saying: “We are not black sheep [but] we are black bumble bees so the PM can get the benefit of the doubt.”

The judge also told the AGP to ask the premier to file a reference against “black sheep” in the judiciary.