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‘We are Supreme Court, not running anyone’s political campaign,’ CJP tells PTI counsel

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  • Adverse actions being taken against PTI through MPO: Khosa.
  • Supreme Court is not a political forum, CJP tells PTI counsel.
  • CJP Isa calls for respecting Pakistan’s institutions

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa observed on Monday that the Supreme Court is not running anyone’s campaign.

The CJP’s remarks during a hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) plea seeking contempt of proceedings against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for allegedly failing to ensure level-playing field to the party ahead of February 8 elections.

“We are the Supreme Court, not the government, we are not running anyone’s campaign,” the CJP said after PTI counsel Latif Khosa complained that the party members were being subjected to political victimisation ahead of February 8 elections. 

A three-member bench led by CJP Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musrat Hilali heard the matter.

The proceedings of the case were broadcast live on SC’s website and YouTube channel.

PTI lawyer Latif Khosa presented arguments on behalf of Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, who filed the appeal in the court.

At the last hearing, the SC issued notices to the Punjab inspector general of police (IGP), chief secretary, and advocate general, seeking their response on the PTI’s allegations regarding alleged harassment of their candidates and party leaders.

On December 22, the top court directed the ECP to address PTI’s concern regarding the level-playing field on the former ruling party’s petition.

In line with the court’s order, the ECP representatives met the PTI delegation and assured them of addressing its grievances in the lead up to the February 8 national vote.

However, the party filed another petition on December 26, seeking contempt of court proceedings against the ECP over the electoral body’s alleged failure to ensure a level-playing field.

A day earlier, the ECP submitted its response to the top court on the PTI’s level-playing field allegations.

The hearing

During the hearing, PTI counsel Khosa told the bench that adverse actions were being taken against the PTI members through Section 144 and Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

At which, the CJP said section 144 and MPO will be for everyone and not just for PTI.

“Neither Section 144 nor MPO has been challenged before us,” the CJP added.

The CJP also reminded the PTI counsel that the Supreme Court is not a political forum, asking him to use other forums for political purposes.

“Stop whining here. If you don’t have trust in any Pakistan’s institution then what should be done,” the CJP said after Khosa complained that nomination papers of their top leaders were rejected by returning officers.

Responding to Khosa’s assertion, Justice Mazhar pointed out that according to the report of the Election Commission nomination papers of more than 76% of PTI candidates were approved.

“Does PTI want elections?” CJP Isa asked Khosa. To which, Khosa replied: “100%, we want elections.”

The CJP said the Election Commission’s mandate is to conduct elections in the country.

“[..] these are the institutions established by you [parliament]…respect these institutions,” the top judge remarked.

Referring to the ECP report submitted to the top court, the CJP asked Khosa to deny the facts if they believed they were wrongly stated in the report.

Khosa complained that PTI has not been granted permission to hold political gatherings and nomination papers of senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi were rejected by the RO.

At which, the CJP responded that the Supreme Court cannot direct any RO not to reject anyone’s nomination papers.

The CJP inquired from the PTI counsel if he had read the report submitted by the ECP in response to the PTI’s petition.

CJP Isa said the PTI would have to come up with something in writing if it was rejecting the ECP’s report.

After hearing the arguments, the SC ordered PTI to submit its response to the ECP’s plea and adjourned the hearing till next Monday (January 15).  

76pc of PTI’s papers accepted, ECP tells SC

ECP Special Secretary Dr Syed Asif Hussain on Sunday rejected the PTI’s allegations that it was not being provided a level playing field for the February 8 elections and asked the Supreme Court to “dismiss the contempt petition with a penalty”.

The ECP official said this in reply to the PTI petition, demanding the SC to begin contempt of court proceedings against the ECP secretary, inspectors general of police (IGPs), chief secretaries of the four provinces and interior secretary over non-compliance of the apex court order passed on December 22, 2023.

The ECP special secretary said that on the SC order, the commission held a meeting with the PTI delegation and heard their grievances. He said their complaints were addressed and they were assured that a level playing field would be provided to all the parties and candidates without any discrimination.

Hussain said the electoral body had issued instructions pertaining to the complaints to the Islamabad chief commissioner, all the four chief secretaries, provincial election commissioners and IGPs.

He added that the orders were also issued to the district returning officers and returning officers. The special secretary said that until December 26, 2023, a total of 33 complaints were made by the PTI and actions were taken on all of them. The IGP, chief secretary and ROs also submitted reports regarding action on the PTI complaints, he added.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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A bill pertaining to the number of Supreme Court justices will soon be presented.

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), recently met, and the inside story of their conversation has revealed important political developments.

The leaders talked about a variety of constitutional and governance matters, including the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, according to sources.

One of the primary outcomes of the conference was the decision to expeditiously introduce a bill in parliament that would increase the number of judges on the Supreme Court. Immediately after it is introduced in parliament, this law is expected to be approved in a matter of days.

In addition, the recently ratified 26th Constitutional Amendment was discussed, with particular attention paid to creating a system for the establishment of constitutional benches at the federal and provincial levels. The formation of constitutional benches would be the subject of formal meetings, they agreed.

Furthermore, the leaders examined the pending measure concerning the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) municipal authority, which has been sent to the appropriate committee for additional assessment.

They also discussed the implementation of an agreement on Punjabi issues between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). According to sources, the conference also discussed the status of an agreement over fund release and administrative jobs in Punjab.

Bilawal Bhutto was reassured by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the federal government would continue to support continued development initiatives in Sindh.

PM Sharif and Bilawal met on Sunday at the premier’s Model Town home in Lahore, where they talked about the newly ratified 26th Constitutional Amendment and pledged to support Pakistan’s parliamentary system and democracy.

As a historic step, Bilawal Bhutto celebrated the 26th Constitutional Amendment’s adoption during the meeting. He said: “We will work together to strengthen democracy and parliament.”

In agreement, Shehbaz credited the amendment’s accomplishment to the combined efforts of all coalition members. He promised that his commitment to the people would not falter and reiterated his commitment to public service.

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