LAHORE (DNA) – Former member of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Javed Hashmi has said on Tuesday that it did not fall under jurisdiction of the five-member bench of the apex court to disqualify an incumbent prime minister.

The PML-N renegade who quit the party to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) conversed with Kamran Shahid in programme ‘On The Front’ and defended president of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif.

Hashmi said that if a premier has mislead the nation, lied to the people about his assets and used his influence and power to stash wealth abroad, he should have been tried in trial court instead of being disqualified by the top court.

He claimed that a ‘judicial programme’ was conceived only to disqualify an incumbent prime minister.

The apex court referred the corruption case to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to try Nawaz Sharif in references over alleged assets beyond means. The top court delivered a verdict against Nawaz Sharif on a matter that was not the issue in question, the politician added.

Statement of the former PML-N member has come in days after Nawaz Sharif convened a meeting with him years after he had parted ways with the front.

The meeting was attended by railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal and Member of National Assembly (MNA) Talal Chaudhry among others.

Meeting of PML-N president and party leaders with the ex-member came few after news were afloat about him rejoining the party however, following the meeting, he denied it being the agenda of the sitting.