CJ asked to schedule early hearings of Imran’s cases

LAHORE:

A day after the Supreme Court went live on air with its full court proceedings, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday urgently implored Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to promptly schedule the hearings of all cases involving former prime minister Imran Khan and to authorise their live broadcast.

Condemning the unjustified postponement of Imran’s bail application by the Islamabad High Court, a PTI spokesperson expressed the need for the CJP to take immediate cognisance of the miscarriage of justice transpiring within the country and to ensure that the principles of justice were upheld in all subordinate courts.

Further, the spokesperson appealed to the CJP to guarantee the protection of constitutional rights of the nation's former prime minister and to ensure the equitable dispensation of justice and fairness.

“The honourable Chief Justice is also called upon to oversee the delivery of justice to incarcerated leaders and workers of (the Pakistan) Tehreek-e-Insaf, with particular emphasis on women workers.”

The spokesperson underscored that Imran, as the former premier and leader of Pakistan's largest political party, was currently experiencing what could only be described as “vindictive targeting”.

Additionally, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi had been subjected to persistent extra-constitutional measures, while PTI Central President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi faced repeated arrests on spurious charges, flagrantly disregarding court orders.

The spokesperson decried the fact that everyone associated with the PTI had been stripped of their basic constitutional rights, characterising the present situation in Pakistan as an orchestrated sequence of injustices.

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Drawing attention to Article 10-A of the Constitution, which guaranteed every citizen the fundamental right to a fair trial, the spokesperson lamented that the former premier was languishing in jail on false charges, as over 200 baseless cases against him were systematically pursued without due regard for the Constitution and justice.

“Imran Khan's hearings are capriciously postponed at the eleventh hour, with no plausible justification, and he is remanded without being presented in court.”

Meanwhile, the PTI Core Committee called for the establishment of a high-powered judicial commission to investigate the information contained in a news report by the international publication 'The Intercept', with an insistence on full disclosure of the facts to the nation.

The PTI Core Committee characterised the content of 'The Intercept' news report as deeply concerning, asserting that it shed light on matters directly pertaining to Pakistan's foreign policy, international agreements, and national security.

In light of the publication of the purported text of a secret letter from the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, the committee stressed the urgent need to ascertain the veracity of the claims presented in ‘The Intercept’.

In the report, the committee highlighted that disconcerting assertions had been made regarding agreements with the IMF, lending credence to the PTI chairman's suspicions regarding a conspiracy for regime change.

Since April 2022, the country witnessed a decline in its economy, politics, governance, state institutions and society, all of which revealed the decision-makers' role, mindset, and competence to the nation.“In the hands of a group seemingly oblivious to the Constitution, the rule of law, values and national interests, the nation's affairs appear perilous, with the future of the state hanging in the balance.”