PTI picks another party in bid to secure reserved seats

ISLAMABAD/ PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is making intense efforts to stay central in parliamentary business by taking some practical measures to secure reserved seats for women and minorities in the assemblies for the party.

On Monday, it clinched a deal with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and announced that the PTI-backed returned independents would join the religio-political party in Centre as well as provinces to get its share of reserved seats.

PTI senior leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan announced that the PTI-backed independent returned candidates would formally join the SIC in the National Assembly and provinces including Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in order to get share of the reserved seats.

He was addressing a news conference here along with Omar Ayub, who is the PTI nominee for the PM slot, SIC head Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Secretary General Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, and PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan.

Gohar said the party-backed independents, who emerged victorious on the National Assembly, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies’ seats, would join the SIC as a party. He explained that after the approval of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, the agreement had been reached with the SIC and the MWM with consensus.

He said the related documents would be submitted for allotment of reserved seats, in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), formalising the affiliation of their candidates with the coalition. “Our candidates have submitted their affidavits with us and with their consent, we are announcing that PTI-supported independents are joining the SIC,” he said.

Gohar said the PTI-backed independent candidates are required to join any party within three days following the issuance of notification under the law. He claimed that the PTI had won 180 seats in the National Assembly and demanded the ECP issue notifications of the returned candidates as per form-45, because all nominees had the PTI endorsement on their nomination papers.

He recalled that the PTI issued tickets to the candidates; however, after snatching the party’s electoral symbol, the ECP declared their candidates as independents. “We demand the ECP allot reserved seats to us as per our mandate and in line with the law,” he added.

Barrister Gohar reiterated the shared vision of the coalition, stating that the decision to join the SIC aimed at fostering unity and progress of the nation. Omar Ayub said at the press conference that the PTI wanted unity in the country and, therefore, the party-backed candidates had decided to join the SIC in Centre and all provinces.

He said the decision to join the SIC was made to get reserved seats as they were only allotted to political parties, which would further increase the strength of the PTI.

“Our first task after forming government will be to ensure instant release of Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and other party’s incarcerated leaders and workers,” he vowed.

Expressing gratitude towards the SIC and MWM for their unwavering support, Ayub acknowledged their role in bolstering PTI’s stance, adding that they vehemently opposed sectarianism and would make all-out efforts to foster unity and cohesion in Pakistan.

Hamid Raza and Allama Nasir Abbas commended the PTI for contesting elections despite all odds and winning elections without an electoral symbol. They clarified that their alliance with the PTI was unconditional.

Sahibzada Hamid Raza said the decision to forge an alliance with the PTI had been taken with the permission of Imran Khan. “My party does not believe in politics of hatred. All sects are standing with the PTI,” he added.

“I want to clarify that this is not a single-handed decision, but it was taken after consultation with Imran Khan,” he added.

Hamid Raza made it clear that the policy would be that of the PTI and Imran Khan, on which the agreement had also been signed. “I want to clarify one more thing that our support to Imran Khan and the PTI is unconditional and without any demand,” the SIC head said.

He pointed out that the SIC and the MMW were the two parties that had always opposed sectarian violence and did not believe in militancy.

The MWM chief said his party would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the PTI, emphasising their joint struggle for the nation’s uplift.

He strongly denounced the alleged large-scale rigging on February 8, stressing the need for electoral transparency and adherence to constitutional norms.

Nasir Abbas said elections were postponed unconstitutionally and that the night of February 8 was the night of rigging, adding the election was to get out of crises, not to create a new crisis.

He made it clear that they would not be a burden on the PTI, rather would share their burden and added, “we are happy with the decision of joining the SIC… it is a very good decision”.

Separately, the PTI Monday moved the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to claim its share in the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the National and provincial assemblies.

PTI leader Mashal Yousafzai filed the writ petition through her lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar Advocate. The ECP was made a respondent in the case.

The petition requested the court to declare null and void the interpretation of the Elections Rules 2017 (4)94 about the political party, as it deprived the PTI of its share in the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the National and provincial assemblies.

The petition argued that the PTI was registered under the Elections Act 2002. It said under Section 208 of the Elections Act 2017, every political party was supposed to elect its office-bearers at the national, provincial, and grassroots levels.

The petition said the ECP had directed the PTI on November 23, 2023 to hold its intra-party elections within 20 days. The PTI held its intra-party elections on December 2 last year, electing Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as its chairman and Omar Ayub as general secretary, the petition said, adding the ECP did not publish the certificate about the PTI’s intra-party elections on its website.

It said the PTI had moved the PHC against the ECP wherein the court had suspended the decision of the election watchdog; however, the Supreme Court later on the ECP’s appeal overturned the ruling of the high court, depriving the PTI of its electoral symbol.

The writ said that before the decision of the Supreme Court, the PTI had submitted its priority lists to the ECP containing the names of its candidates for the reserved seats and the women had even submitted nomination papers to the Election Commission.

Despite challenges, the PTI scored a victory in the recently held general election, the petition said, arguing that despite losing its electoral symbol, the PTI was still registered with the ECP, as the party was not banned. It said the Supreme Court and not the ECP was mandated to delist a political party.

The PTI requested the court to declare null and void the interpretation of the Elections Rules 2017 (4)94 and allow the PTI to claim its share of the reserved seats. The PTI also requested the court to fix the petition for a hearing today.

Meanwhile, the Sunni Ittehad Council requested the ECP to allot its reserved seats in assemblies. The party certificates of PTI-backed members joining the SIC were also submitted to the ECP.

Sources said the party certificates of 50 members of National Assembly had been submitted so far by the independent members, supported by the PTI.

Speaking to the media outside the ECP, SIC Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza said the coalition with the PTI was not new, it had been running for six years. He said people had given the mandate, they would not allow insult to it. The affidavits of the independent members, who have been notified as successful are being submitted.

He said he was looking into the issue of reserved seats for women. As soon as the notification is made, he would continue to submit affidavits accordingly to claim reserved seats.

However, is it so simple for him to get allotted to his party several reserved seats for women in the legislatures, as he himself got elected as an independent candidate from NA-104, Faisalabad, instead of using his own party’s platform.

Therefore, his own political party i.e. the SIC, would be having no presence in the National Assembly, as none of its candidates returned to the legislature in the recent elections. How will the Election Commission interpret the related law in relation to the PTI-backed candidates, joining the SIC is to be seen soon.

“We know there is a political cost of going for the SIC arrangement, but people know how things were reversed for us prior to the elections and afterwards, yet people have voted for us,” said a senior party member, when contacted for his comment on the development.

Meanwhile, the PTI core committee meeting expressed deep concern over ‘grave threats to the life of founder chairman Imran Khan, especially his wife Bushra Bibi’.

The panel strongly condemned the ‘detention’ of Bushra Bibi in Bani Gala against her wishes and giving her very substandard, deadly and poisonous food despite her request for transfer to jail.

The core committee said the PTI founding chairman and his wife demanded restoration of fundamental rights of all its political leaders and workers and that they should be treated in accordance with the law.

“The committee strongly condemns the latest series of enforced disappearances across the country, including Brigadier (retd) Aslam Ghumman and Ahmer Rashid Bhatti, to intimidate and force successful candidates of PTI to leave the party. The committee demands immediate removal of chief secretaries and IGPs of Punjab and Sindh and strict accountability of them,” it said.

The core committee fully endorsed political cooperation between MWM, Sunni Ittehad Council and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. It noted the PTI Balochistan had assured full support and support of the central party and demanded immediate release of results of all National and provincial assembly seats as per Form 45.

“Commissioner Rawalpindi’s confession in which he made serious allegations against the chief election commissioner and the chief justice of Pakistan also demanded a judicial inquiry by a judicial commission,” the meeting said.

In a related development, the PTI and the JUI-Sherani group agreed to continue mutual contacts and cooperation and decided to fight together to prevent rigging in future.

A PTI delegation comprising Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Omar Ayub Khan and Asad Qaiser met JUI-Sherani group leader Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan at his residence. JUI-Sherani group spokesman Qasim Agha, Maulana Javed Khan, Akhundzada Hidayatullah and Maulana Abdul Malik were also present. During the meeting, the recent general election and the political situation in the country were discussed.

Maulana Gul Naseeb told the media that they supported the PTI candidates in most of the constituencies in elections and he himself withdrew in favour of the PTI from one constituency.

“Political stability in the country is essential for which confidence in this system needs to be built. We will contact the political parties and powerful personalities to remove the weaknesses and play their role in normalising the situation,” he said.

Barrister Gohar said “Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan supported us in very difficult circumstances. He was in touch even before the elections and has come to him even today. The two parties have agreed to continue contacts”. Former speaker National Assembly and PTI leader Asad Qaiser said “we are contacting all those parties who have reservations about this election”.