PTI, SIC parliamentary party concerned over ad hoc SC judges’ appointment

ISLAMABAD: The joint parliamentary party of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) expressed grave concern over the planned appointment of ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court, dismissing it as being tantamount to “destroying the real structure of the SC in order to create an artificial numerical superiority of an individual.”

“This move is based on dishonesty and is an attempt to install likeminded judges with clear prejudice and very questionable characters into the SC, yet again, in the guise of ad hoc judges, with the sole purpose to target PTI,” read the joint parliamentary party’s declaration issued after its meeting on Thursday.

It said the meeting utterly rejected the government’s plan to ban PTI and initiate proceedings against Imran Khan under Article 6, demanding that the Article 6 be applied against those who had been flouting the constitution and breaking laws during the past two years.

The participants of the meeting called the “mandate thieves’ announcement to ban PTI a proof of the desperation of the non-representatives’ government and an admission of defeat.”

“The decision to impose ban on the country’s most popular political party is contempt of SC because it is aimed at depriving PTI of the reserved seats,” they said.

The joint parliamentary party demanded application of Article 6 against Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), for “depriving PTI of a level playing field in the context of the SC’s historic decision.”

The parliamentary party meeting also strongly condemned the government’s “indirect messages, through touts, of not implementing the SC’s decision.”

The meeting participants vowed that PTI would strongly resist any attempt to deviate from the decision of the top court regarding reserved seats in the assemblies at all levels.

The meeting denounced what it termed were the illegal arrests and enforced disappearances of PTI lawmakers after the landmark SC decision on reserved seats.

The joint parliamentary party demanded that the apex court fix the petitions regarding mission persons for instant hearing so as to ensure their immediate release.

Following the meeting, the PTI leaders and workers marched from the Parliament House to the Supreme Court in protest to the alleged abductions of PTI members at the hands of members of some powerful state institutions.

Senior PTI leaders led the march. Speaking on the occasion, they demanded of the SC to take notice of enforced disappearances of the PTI members including its lawmakers and ensure justice for the victims.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024