PTI affirms Imran Khan’s lifetime chairmanship

Core committee decides to challenge CCI decision on census in SC

LAHORE:

Pledging their loyalty and renewing their trust in Imran Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday bestowed the lifelong title of party chairman upon the former premier.

The party also decided to challenge in the Supreme Court the decision of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) regarding the digital census, according to a statement of the PTI core committee.

The former premier was arrested and sent to Attock jail on Saturday hours after a trial court in Islamabad sentenced him to three years in prison while imposing on him a fine of Rs100,000 for “making false declarations” about his assets to the polls supervisory body.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday presided over an “important meeting” of the core committee in Lahore. The party unanimously passed a resolution stating that the post of PTI chairmanship would be reserved for party founder Imran Khan.

In view of the directives issued by the party chairman from jail, the committee decided to celebrate the Independence Day with full zeal and vehemence, and vowed to organise special events in Pakistan and around the world on the occasion.

Meanwhile, after approval from the PTI chief, the party decided to challenge the decision of the CCI in the apex court, and announced to defy every attempt to delay the upcoming general election with full legal and political resistance.

Also read PTI core committee condemns Imran’s ‘inhumane’ detention at Attock jail

The CCI unanimously approved on Saturday the results of the 7th population and housing census, concluding that the population of Pakistan had reached 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55% as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The CCI decision is likely to result in a delay in general elections slated for November this year if the assemblies are dissolved on August 9 (today), three days shy of their term completion. A new census means new delimitation of constituencies, which, according to some experts, may take at least four months.

The PTI insisted on holding the polls within the constitutional period of 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.

According to the statement, the former ruling party will also challenge before the top court amendments made in the Official Secrets Act to protect the fundamental rights and personal freedom of individuals.

The core committee pledged to curb the “process of making the laws bloody by the fascist government” and safeguard individualism at all cost.

On Monday, the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was approved by the government in the National Assembly on Monday, albeit with a crucial change, after it was passed through the Senate with amendments. The provision granting intelligence agencies the authority to make arrests and seizures without warrants was removed from the proposed law.

Initially, the bill, proposed by the PML-N-led ruling coalition, had conferred agencies with the ability to conduct searches or seizures without the need for warrants.

The party pressed on the election symbol of “bat” as their right, and cautioned the authorities concerned against any move to deprive them of it.

The legal team of the PTI briefed the participants of the core committee on various issues, including appeal against the court’s decision on Toshakhana and lawyers meeting with the PTI chief in jail.