Relief dries up for PTI in superior courts

ISLAMABAD:

Ever since the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has found itself adrift in hostile judicial waters, struggling to secure meaningful relief from the country's superior courts.

The party, whose founder and chief Imran Khan has remained incarcerated for over two years, continues to plead with the judiciary for hearings on his cases. However, progress has remained slow as PTI's petitions linger unresolved.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has once again moved the Supreme Court, seeking directions for authorities to arrange his meeting with the incarcerated patron-in-chief of the party in Adiala Jail.

The appeal is not Gandapur's first attempt to meet Imran. In June, he filed a similar petition, which the SC Registrar's Office returned. An appeal against those objections in the chamber is still pending.

On June 25, Gandapur appeared in Courtroom No. 1, where Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah was heading the bench in the absence of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, who was in Lahore.

When Gandapur requested that his plea for a meeting with Khan be entertained, arguing it was necessary to discuss the provincial budget, Justice Shah advised him to approach the CJP or the Registrar's Office.

The renewed petition came after Imran's statement on Tuesday, in which he instructed Gandapur to formally seek SC permission for such a meeting.

"Earlier, during the budget process, no meetings or consultation took place with me. Ali Amin must come and brief me on governance, law and order, and other important provincial matters. For this, efforts must be made at every forum, including the Supreme Court," read a statement issued on behalf of Imran Khan on his social media account.

Currently, the constitutional bench can only take up matters of public interest. However, since June 27, it has not conducted a single hearing. Meanwhile, dozens of PTI's constitutional petitions remain pending.

Party insiders admit that PTI's legal team is also reluctant to pursue these cases until the fate of petitions challenging the 26th Amendment is decided.

So far, the constitutional bench has issued three rulings that have severely weakened PTI's legal position. First, while exercising its review jurisdiction, it overturned an earlier SC verdict that had entitled PTI to reserved seats. Second, it endorsed the trial of PTI activists in military courts.

Third, it upheld the transfer of judges from various high courts to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), where PTI has struggled to gain relief. Imran Khan had also challenged the transfer of judges.

At the IHC, since March, petitions filed by Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi seeking suspension of their sentences in the Al-Qadir Trust case remain undecided, despite repeated applications for an early hearing.

PTI also complains that despite IHC directions, jail authorities continue to restrict meetings between Imran Khan and both party leaders and family members. On Tuesday, after three months, PTI's secretary general and members of Imran Khan's family were finally allowed to meet him.

During a separate meeting with his legal team, Imran Khan expressed disappointment over the judiciary's failure to provide relief.

He stated, "After the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the judiciary has become entirely subservient. These judges without a conscience do not take action against human rights violations."

Like the SC and IHC, PTI has also faced setbacks in the Lahore High Court (LHC) regarding the May 9 cases.

The LHC has made it clear that convicts must surrender before their appeals against convictions can be heard. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), acting in haste, de-seated convicted MNAs and issued the schedule for by-elections.

In contrast, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has restrained the ECP from holding by-elections in certain constituencies and has even halted the process of nominating opposition leaders in both houses of Parliament.

The divergence in approach between the two high courts has fueled debate.

Despite PTI's grievances, a three-judge bench of the SC led by CJP Afridi recently granted Imran Khan bail in eight cases linked to the May 9 incidents.

Meanwhile, observers note that it is also a fact that PTI historically secured more relief from the judiciary compared to rival political parties, particularly before the tenure of former CJP Qazi Faez Isa.

Imran Khan was even declared "Sadiq and Ameen" by the SC under former CJP Saqib Nisar, while on the other hand, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.