ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Friday that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had assured to provide a level playing field to the party after the top court of the country issued directives to the electoral body to address the issue.
Speaking at a presser here after holding a meeting with senior ECP officials, PTI lawyer Shoaib Shaheen following the apex court’s directives earlier in the day, said that it was a fruitful meeting as we were assured that level playing field will be provided to the PTI.
The SC had instructed the ECP to address PTI’s reservations about the lack of level playing field. It had also directed the PTI to submit its complaint with the electoral watchdog and ordered Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan to play his role in resolving the issue.
“They [ECP officials] have assured us that our grievances will be addressed as directed by the top court,” said Shaheen. He said that the ECP officials have promised to take action against all personnel and police officers who had attempted to impede the process leading up to the general elections or had carried out any illegal activity to create obstacles in the smooth functioning of the electoral process. He said that the commission had assured the party that all the complaints that had been raised would be resolved, adding “we are optimistic that the ECP would play its due role in ensuring free and fair elections”.
The lawyer said that all federal and provincial authorities were bound to assist the ECP in conducting fair and free elections, adding the ECP had established complaint cells in the provinces and empowered its provincial offices to take immediate action on any complaint.
He said “We also talked about issuance of our electoral symbol of bat. Today is the last day; they have to decide on our intra-party elections. They have said they will decide at every cost before 12am today and we hope that our problem will be solved.”
Earlier in the day, a three-judge SC bench comprising the acting Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah heard the PTI’s plea seeking a level playing field in the February 08 elections.
At the onset of the hearing, the apex court had summoned AGP Awan as well as the electoral watchdog. As the court initiated the proceedings, it instructed the AGP to act as a facilitator in the matter.
In the petition filed a day earlier, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said the party should be allowed to contest elections without any discrimination.
The request was made in a petition filed through Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, which named the federation, the electoral watchdog, and the chief secretaries of KP, Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan, as respondents.
Earlier, on December 19, the PTI had approached the ECP, but it failed to issue any order to ensure transparency and fairness of the elections. This situation is damaging the integrity of the country, the petition argued, adding that feeling aggrieved, the petitioner then filed a plea before the LHC, Rawalpindi bench, which is yet to hear the case.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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