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PTI fields lawyers as frontrunners for Feb 8 elections in Karachi

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  • PTI lawyers to vie for seven NA, four provincial assembly seats.
  • Party has fielded lawyers in other provinces as well.
  • Key PTI leaders ditched the Imran Khan-led party.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has issued party tickets to about a dozen counsels to contest general elections on the National Assembly and Sindh Assembly seats in Karachi.

PTI lawyers will vie for seven NA seats and four provincial assembly seats in the city. Whereas, contests will be held on a total of 22 NA and 47 SA seats in the general elections on February 8 across the megalopolis.

Advocate Zahoor uddin, who is the Insaf Lawyers Forum Karachi president, is contesting from NA-237 (East-III), Shujaat Ali Khan NA-243 (Keamari-II), Khalid Mehmood NA-231 (Malir-III), Advocate Haris Meo NA-233 (Korangi-II), Attaullah Khan NA-245 (West-II), Barrister Fayaz NA-247 (Central-I) and Barrister Uzair Ghauri from NA-249 (Central-III).

Those contesting the provincial assembly seats, include Ashraf Samoo PS-89 (Malir-VI), Barrister Ali Tahir PS-101 (East-V), Advocate Ali Palh PS-103 (East-VII) and Rana Imran PS-123 (Central-II).

Likewise, the party has fielded lawyers in other provinces as well. The prominent among them are Barrister Gohar Ali Khan (from Buner), Latif Khosa (Lahore), Salman Akram Raja (Lahore), Shoaib Shaheen (Islamabad), and Sher Afzal Marwat (Lakki Marwat).

The party, which has been through a great deal since May 9, says it has rewarded the lawyers for their support and commitment to fighting cases against workers and leaders in the face of testing times. 

However, political analysts also see it as a good strategy to bank on advocates because of unity among their ranks and the backing of lawyers’ bodies. “Lawyers supported and stood by the PTI in its testing times and handled cases of party leaders, including Imran Khan. They truly deserved [party tickets],” PTI leader Khurram Sher Zaman said, talking to The News.

“They were rewarded for their unwavering dedication and tireless efforts. Yet workers were fielded on 70-85 per cent of the seats. In my opinion, lawyers should have had an even greater share in the allocation of seats.”

In the wake of the events of May 9, key PTI leaders ditched the Imran Khan-led party. They were picked up or arrested, and later emerged to condemn the May 9 violence and quit the party. Some even quit politics altogether.

With most PTI leaders either in hiding or behind bars and having ditched the party, lawyers became the face of the party. Barrister Gohar Khan was recently elected as the party chairman in intra-party elections, which were though nullified by the Supreme Court.

“Lawyers enjoy the backing of bar council and bar associations, which have a tradition of safeguarding the fundamental rights of their members. Arresting them or launching legal action against them seems somewhat difficult though the establishment has no such tradition as it treats everyone badly,” said Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan.

“[Fielding lawyers] is an excellent strategy. I don’t think of any better decision than this.”

An independent candidate, Advocate Johar Abid, was lately picked up from his residence. The Karachi Bar Association observed a complete boycott of legal proceedings at the City Courts against what it described the abduction of its member by people posing as police officials. A day later, Johar Abid returned home.

“Lawyers are the most organised community in civil society and hold significant sway. Some political parties are trying to cash in on them,” opined senior court reporter Asghar Umar. “Lawyers used to be elected to parliament, but since the lawyers’ movement became a symbol of their success, they became a force to be reckoned with as they can get relief for themselves by standing up to any other state institution.”

But with the rise in their power, he said, polarisation has also increased among their ranks. PTI candidate Zahoor uddin is hopeful that the lawyers would win the elections. “While former PTI parliamentarians quit the party, it was lawyers who stood by it, fighting cases and securing their release. They also held rallies and protests, because of which the party decided to award them tickets,” he said. Advocate Shujaat Khan said he has been visiting his constituency and getting good response from voters. He is also hopeful that the lawyers would win the elections.

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Sheikh Rasheed says PTI and government negotiations won’t provide any results.

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Sheikh Rasheed voiced his worries about the nation’s ongoing political dilemma while speaking outside the Anti-Terrorism Court.

According to Sheikh Rasheed, a committee was established to negotiate, but the process has not produced any tangible results. In order to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, he said, “Political conditions are extremely bad.”

He made the joke, “Even after war, if negotiations fail, then it will all come down to judo karate,” in reference to the next steps.

“Everyone there prays for Pakistan’s betterment,” Sheikh Rasheed, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, said. He emphasized the necessity for the nation’s circumstances to improve and stabilize.

Assad Qaiser, a former speaker and PTI leader, had earlier called on Speaker Ayaz Sadiq of the National Assembly to discuss the official start of talks with the government.

The two leaders shared their opinions on bringing parties together on matters of national importance and reducing political tensions and conflict.

“I will persuade my people, you persuade the hardliners in your party,” Ayaz Sadiq said to Assad Qaiser.

The party’s founder is in jail, and the PTI leadership has asked to meet with him. “We will continue to confer with him,” Assad Qaiser declared.

Earlier, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai stated that if the discussions don’t begin, a campaign of civil disobedience will begin on December 14.

Speaking to the media Regarding the meetings, Yousafzai claimed that the government ministers were making insincere remarks.

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Bushra Bibi maintains bail as the IHC concludes the FIA’s petition.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) conducted a hearing about the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea for the revocation of Bushra Bibi’s bail.

The court, led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected the FIA’s petition during the hearing.

Judicial Proceedings

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb sought information regarding Bushra Bibi’s location, to which her attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, affirmed her attendance in court.

The judge urged the counsel to regard the matters with gravity, underscoring the necessity of adherence to trial protocols.

The court sought details about instances where Bushra Bibi had been exempted from attending trial hearings and clarified that if the High Court grants bail and the accused fails to appear, the trial court holds the authority to cancel the bail.

Justice Aurangzeb assured that such actions would not amount to contempt of the High Court’s order.

Based on these considerations, the court closed the proceedings and dismissed the FIA’s plea.

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The Supreme Court has granted the appeal of the PTI founder for a judicial probe into the events of May 9.

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The Supreme Court has officially accepted the plea submitted by the PTI chairman for a judicial probe into the events of May 9 for a comprehensive hearing.

The constitutional bench of the Supreme Court annulled the registrar’s office’s objections to the petition and instructed the office to allocate a case number and arrange the hearing.

The PTI chairman was represented by prominent attorney Hamid Khan, who appeared in court to argue for the petition’s admission.

The Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) already convicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in connection with the incidents on May 9 and denied his bail on eight distinct counts.

The court’s finding was delivered in a six-page written order by ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul.

The written ruling emphasized substantial evidence against the PTI founder, comprising audio and visual recordings of his directives to incite violence.

The court observed that witnesses had provided testimony on the conspiracy planned by Imran Khan at Zaman Park, where he purportedly strategized for his possible arrest by intending to disrupt state functions via his supporters.

Imran Khan’s legal counsel contended that he was in custody at the time of the incidents, proposing that bail be granted in accordance with precedents where bail was awarded in like circumstances following detention.

Nevertheless, the court rejected this argument, underscoring that the case’s nature was not a trifling issue of conspiracy or incitement.

The prosecution established that Mr. Khan had explicitly incited assaults on military and governmental facilities and had galvanized both his commanders and supporters to adhere to his directives.

The decision additionally cited the Lahore High Court’s finding regarding a prior release granted to Ijaz Chaudhry, highlighting Imran Khan’s involvement in the conspiracy. The court dismissed the defense’s challenge over the prosecution’s lack of specificity concerning the date, time, or location of the purported conspiracy, affirming that the scheme was allegedly devised on May 7 and May 9 at Zaman Park.

The prosecution asserts that undercover police officers, masquerading as PTI supporters, intercepted discussions outlining the scheme.

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