PTI praises SC verdict, slams Qaisar’s arrest

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Core Committee Friday termed the role of the Supreme Court in fixing the poll date as an important step towards the restoration of democracy.

In its meeting, the core committee said that the top court’s intervention, role and decision would help end the widespread uncertainty in the country. The forum expressed gratitude to the apex court for putting its weight on the cause of the restoration of democracy.

The core committee termed November 3, 2022 as a ‘Black Day in the country’s political history when a cowardly assassination attempt was made on the ‘nation’s only and most popular leader’ PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The committee noted with concern that despite the lapse of one year, no investigation was made into the tragic incident to punish the attackers and unmask the conspirators. The forum dubbed the failure to probe into the conspiracy and to trace the attackers as a shameful attempt to protect the real culprits. The conspiracy to kill Imran Khan was not the assassination of a personality, but a conspiracy to push Pakistan into an abyss of chaos and disorder.

They went on to say that PTI was the largest party in the country and equally popular in all federal units; however, during the last 18 months, the party and its leaders, workers and supporters were being subjected to the worst state repression and fascism. It was said that after the ECP announced the election date, the raid on the house of the sister of PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Ali Amin Gandapur was a provocative display of disgraceful state terrorism. The election process without any fear or hindrance is a prerequisite for holding free, fair and transparent elections.

PTI Committee underlined that ECP should take immediate decisions on all the pending issues including the immediate allotment of the election symbol ‘Bat’, besides ensuring a level playing field for the elections. The forum demanded that the ongoing series of state coercive tactics, and repressive actions against PTI should be stopped instantly and all the leaders including the PTI Chairman and thousands of political workers detained in fabricated and politically motivated cases should be released sans any further delay. PTI Committee expressed optimism that Imran Khan would be elected PM to take the rein of the country again to put Pakistan on the path of development and prosperity.

Meanwhile, PTI spokesperson strongly condemned the arrest of former Speaker National Assembly and PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser, adding that the court would be moved against his detention to ensure his early release.

Reacting to the arrest, a PTI spokesperson termed the detention of Asad Qaiser as a shameful attempt to sabotage and affect the transparency and fairness of the elections. The arrest put a question mark on the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding conducting free, fair and transparent elections, he concluded.