ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the opposition PTI on Monday urged the judiciary to expedite the cases related to alleged rigging during the general elections and the 26th Amendment, expressing concern that the matters remained undecided despite the passage of a year.
The demand was reiterated by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, Senator Shibli Faraz and the party’s General Secretary Salman Akram Raja at a press conference, held at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in the capital.
Barrister Gohar claimed the party had filed 74 petitions regarding alleged rigging in the Feb 8, 2024 elections, but the courts had failed to deliver any verdicts.
He also criticised the 26th Amendment, passed in October 2024, alleging that it resulted in the appointment of 46 judges to the high courts and Supreme Court.
He said that even judges of superior courts, lawyers and others had criticised the amendment, and PTI had boycotted the meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. He called for the swift resolution of the case concerning the amendment.
Mr Ayub urged the judiciary to stand for the rule of law and demand the release of political prisoners. He pointed out that the PTI founder had been in jail for nearly 20 months and called for the release of Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, Hassan Niazi and others.
He alleged that the ruling party was making false claims about economic growth, asserting that the situation was worsening, which had led investors to refrain from investing in the country.
Salman Akram Raja, who contested the election from Lahore and later filed a petition, said it was unfortunate that only two tribunals were hearing cases in Punjab.
Senator Faraz emphasised that Pakistan cannot achieve political stability unless free and fair elections are held.
Meanwhile, PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry, speaking outside Adiala Jail, criticised the irregularities in case hearings, which he said were held at the discretion of powers that be.
He alleged that on Oct 3, Imran Khan was kept in isolation for three weeks and subjected to mental torture by suspending electricity and withdrawing exercise and meeting facilities for family and lawyers.
Despite repeated requests, he regretted, they were denied the opportunity to meet the former premier and expressed concerns that some elements were deliberately obstructing his access to justice. He lamented that the jail management was not even following court orders.
‘Planted leadership’
Meanwhile, former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry alleged that the current PTI leadership was ‘planted’ and had no interest in securing the release of party founder Imran Khan from jail.
Speaking to the media at his ancestral house in tehsil Dina of Gujar Khan, the former PTI leader lashed out at the incumbent party leadership for its failure to secure Imran Khan’s release, saying that his freedom is not in its interest, just as “it isn’t in the interest of the government and the establishment”.
He claimed that opposition parties were willing to form a grand alliance but considered it “dangerous” to engage with the current PTI leadership. “Earlier, we doubted the capacity of the current PTI leadership, but now it has been proven that they are planted by the establishment and would never allow Imran Khan to come out of jail,” he asserted.
Fawad Chaudhry alleged that figures like Salman Akram Raja, Raoof Hassan and Sheikh Waqqas have no real sympathy for Imran Khan, as they had no prior affiliations with the party.
He claimed that Salman Akram Raja had previously served as a lawyer for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case and was only interested in his financial gains as a corporate lawyer.
Fawad Chaudhry claimed that he had re-established contact with sidelined senior PTI leaders to reunite the bloc and push for a coordinated effort under the ‘Imran Khan Release Committee’. He asserted that the committee’s sole agenda would be securing Imran Khan’s release, with any decision regarding their future within the PTI to be made only after the ex-PM’s release from jail.
Hamid Asghar in Gujar Khan also contributed to this report
Published in media, February 18th, 2025
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