ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Teh­re­ek-i-Insaf (PTI) Central Infor­ma­tion Secretary Raoof Hasan urged Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday to hear the party’s long-pending petitions regarding the May 9 operation, ele­ction symbol review, and Feb 8 “mega polls fraud” without further delay, to uncover the truth.

Addressing a press conference alongside former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Khalid Khurshid, Mr Hasan said the Constitution did not permit ignoring crucial petitions and focusing on trivial matters. He requested the CJP to fix party’s pending petitions, including the May 9 incidents, review petition, level playing fields, and Feb 8 “mega polls robbery”, for hearing.

Former Gilgit-Baltistan CM questions why chief justice stayed silent over PML-N’s intra-party elections

Raoof Hasan expressed disappointment that he wrote several letters to the CJP regarding the level playing field and other important matters, but they all went unheard. He alleged that those actions were part of the “notorious London Plan” and questioned whe­ther the CJP and Election Commis­sion of Pakistan (ECP) were also complicit.

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He said the CJP repeatedly raised questions during court proceedings regarding PTI’s intra-party elections though the PTI conducted three party polls, including one under Supreme Court guidelines. On the other hand, he said, the ECP still questioned the conduct of intra-party elections.

He argued that instead of criticising the PTI, the SC should take responsibility for depriving the party of level playing field during general elections, detaining and threatening candidates, proposers, and seconders.

The PTI leader asserted that they were asked to respect the constitutional body, but questioned whether the electoral body that conducted such general elections deserved respect, given the unanimous consensus among international organisations and the US Congress that the Feb 8 polls were “rigged”.

Raoof Hasan mentioned the US Congress’s damning resolution, pas­­sed with a 98 per cent majority, which raised serious questions about the election’s credibility and transparency. He also highlighted the Chinese delegation’s concerns about political instability in Pakistan.

Khalid Khurshid said that the entire world recognised the Feb 8 polls as rigged, but the apex court remained silent. He questioned why the CJP raised questions about PTI’s intra-party polls but remained silent on PML-N’s intra-party elections, which lacked a notified members’ list.

Operation in KP

He clarified that the PTI would not allow military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but was willing to cooperate in eliminating terrorism. He believed that the coalition government’s priority was not to root out terrorism but to crush the rival PTI, demanding a revisit of policies and approaches.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2024