Letter comes to PTI’s rescue in polls case

Party manages to convince SC to issue notice to Punjab police chief, chief secretary

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI legal team on Wednesday faced a tough time in the Supreme Court when they struggled to provide specific examples of not getting a level playing field in Punjab in the context of the upcoming general election scheduled for February 8.

However, it finally managed to convince the three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, to seek a report from the Punjab police chief as well as chief secretary on the actions they have taken in the light of a letter from the Punjab election commissioner.

In the letter, the polls supervisor for the province had asked the authorities to ensure a conducive environment for all the candidates during submission of nomination papers with returning officers (ROs).

The bench also comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali took up a contempt petition filed by the PTI against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other executive functionaries for not complying with the court’s December 22 order.

PTI counsels—Latif Khosa and Shoiab Shaheen—appeared before the bench, which remained unimpressed with their arguments. The chief justice stopped Khosa from making political statements before the bench several times.

Read PTI targeted by ‘systematic dismemberment’, says rights watchdog

Finally, the PTI lawyers referred to the two-page letter of the Punjab election commissioner.
The people who witnessed the proceedings agreed that if the lawyers had not attached this letter with the petition, they would not be able to convince the SC for issuing notices to the provincial authorities.

Some legal experts said the PTI should engage professional counsels in such matters.

Although the PTI has a big legal team, they said, the majority of them are more interested in contesting elections. Likewise, PTI leaders should strongly condemn the ongoing social media campaign against CJ Isa.

It was visible that the PTI legal team had not come prepared. They said there are two reasons why the PTI is failing to get any big relief from the CJ.

Firstly, the party mostly relies on social media where its supporters put pressure on the judges to get favourable results. Secondly the PTI uses the judicial forum for political gains.

Since 2012, the party has filed several petitions in the apex court on different issues and has remained successful to get relief a number of times. However, their strategy is not working in CJ Isa’s case.

The party has approached the SC in several matters during the incumbent CJ term. However, it is unable to get favourable results. CJ Isa is, however, ensuring that the general elections are held on February 8.

Read more PTI overcomes challenges in nomination papers

During the hearing, CJP Isa asked PTI lawyers to challenge the ROs orders for rejection of nomination papers in elections tribunals. Even he urged them to file petitions without getting certified copies of the ROs order. The hearing of the case was adjourned till Monday.

Legal experts believe that the matter related to allotment of an election symbol is more important. The

PTI is likely to approach the apex court in this regard.

The fate of this case will decide whether the general elections are held on February 8. Some rival powers do not want the PTI to contest elections with its iconic symbol of a cricket bat.