'Will attend JCP after meeting Imran'

PTI chief says decision taken after 27th Amendment, rules out Nawaz's hand behind Achakzai notification

ISLAMABAD:

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Monday said the party would decide on participating in future meetings of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) only after being allowed to consult incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, lamenting that no contact had been possible since the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court, Barrister Gohar said that following the constitutional changes and the creation of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), the status of the Judicial Commission had fundamentally changed.

He said PTI had already harboured serious reservations over the 26th Constitutional Amendment enacted in 2024, but despite this, the party had wanted to remain part of the judicial appointment process and present its viewpoint. However, this became untenable once meetings with the jailed party supremo were discontinued.

He said that since the adoption of the 27th Constitutional Amendment and the establishment of new courts, no meeting with Imran Khan had taken place, adding that the party had also boycotted other parliamentary committees under similar circumstances.

"Once we meet the PTI founder, we will consult him and then move forward," he said, adding that participation in the JCP would be decided only after such consultation.

Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the party had stayed away from the JCP in the same manner it had boycotted other parliamentary committees, stressing that the lack of access to Imran Khan had left the party without a channel for internal consultation.

He said a final decision on future participation in the JCP would only be taken after a meeting with the PTI founder.

Addressing speculation surrounding the appointment of Mehmood Khan Achakzai as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Barrister Gohar rejected claims that the notification had been issued at the behest of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

He maintained that the decision fell solely within the discretion of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and said the PTI was appreciative of the notification being issued.

He added that the party had been informed that the notification for the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate was expected within a day or two, noting that nomination papers had already been submitted to the Senate Secretariat.

Barrister Gohar said that since the PTI founder had already nominated opposition leaders for both the National Assembly and the Senate, timely issuance of both notifications would be in the interest of parliamentary stability and effective functioning.