PESHAWAR: The PTI filed a request for designated seats in the provincial and national assemblies with the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday.
The ECP’s interpretation of a political party as stated in Rule 94(4) of the Election Rules 2017 should be announced unconstitutional and unlawful, according to a petition filed by advocate Mashal Yousafzai via advocate Qazi Muhammad Anwar. This is because the PTI has been deprived of reserved seats for women and minorities.
The petition brought to light that PTI was directed by ECP to conduct intra-party votes within 20 days on November 23, 2023. Following internal party elections, the party chose Barrister Gohar Ali Khan to be its executive director and Omar Ayub to be its general secretary.
But the ECP failed to post the party certificate on its official website, which prompted PTI to file a complaint with the PHC, nullifying the ECP’s decision. Later, the PHC ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court, which stripped PTI of its electoral emblem, the “bat.”
Imran says Faisal Javed will run for office again from Mianwali; Gandapur demands “exemplary” punishment for toppling the government.
According to the plea, PTI has provided a list of names for seats designated for minorities and women in the assembly.
It stated that PTI candidates ran for office as independents and that, in spite of numerous obstacles, they were able to secure the majority of seats in both the national and KP Assembly elections.
According to the petition, should the party choose not to affiliate with any political party, it would forfeit its allotted seats. It made clear that the Supreme Court, not the ECP, had the authority to delist a party.
The appeal asked the court to declare the Election Rules 2017 null and unlawful and order their party to be allocated women’s and minority reserved seats in the same manner as other political parties, arguing that the ECP’s interpretation of Rule 94(4) was unconstitutional.
Resurfacing is Faisal Javed
Following the party’s crackdown following the May 9 riots, PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan fled into hiding due to multiple cases filed against him. However, he has now returned and received a transit bail from PHC.
In an interview with Geo News on the court grounds, the senator stated that [Imran] Khan would be running for office from Mianwali and would soon return to his position as Pakistan’s prime minister.
Mr. Javed stated that their stance on the events of May 9 was unambiguous and that they desired an investigation [into the riots]. He claimed that he was the target of false accusations, and on Monday the court released him on transit bond.
Model penalties
Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI’s candidate for KP chief minister, who also received travel bail from PHC in a number of cases, stated that the trend of overthrowing elected governments would not end until those responsible were given harsh penalties.
Addressing to reporters, he stated that JUI-F president Maulana Fazlur Rehman had discovered the members of the plot that led to the no-trust resolution that overthrew the PTI government.
He remarked, “I ask the Supreme Court to call the people who were involved in overthrowing the PTI government and investigate them.” He emphasized that it is not a joke to disgrace the public mandate by engaging in a conspiracy.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
