Rifts hit PTI over reserved seats debacle

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Senator Barrister Ali Zafar Friday said at first it was decided to merge the party with Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) (for reserved seats) and next day, it was changed to opt for Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

In Geo News talk show ‘Naya Pakistan with Shahzad Iqbal Kay Sath’, the PTI stalwart explained that on the directive of Imran Khan, it was decided to join the MWM but the decision was changed the next day, when some people who met Imran Khan in Adiala jail, came out and said now ‘we will go with Sunni Ittehad Council’, when I asked Imran Khan about this, he said he had not changed the decision.

Ali Zafar, however, emphasised: “The decision will have to be revised no matter how it was taken; it was our mistake; as to where and how this miscommunication was committed.”

He conceded that party leader Sher Afzal Marwat was right. At first a decision was made to join the MWM. Prior to that a decision was also made to unite with Maulana Sheerani’s party as Sheerani’s group also participated in the election and had also given a list of reserved seats.

After that, he pointed out, the next option was the MWM, which had contested the election and they had a member in Parliament. Moreover, they had also provided a list of reserved seats but this decision was also changed, and it was decided to join the SIC, which had not participated in the elections. Therefore, he noted, the ECP and Peshawar High Court (PHC) decided not to give the SIC reserved seats.

“The options should always be used in a situation where there is no room for discussion. The issue of merger/ unity was not discussed in the Core Committee meeting,” he explained.

Barrister Ali Zafar said that the case of reserved seats of the SIC was not one that had been decided before. It is interpretation of the Constitution and the Elections Act, and there may be three or four opinions. The Supreme Court has to decide whether our interpretation is correct or verdict of the ECP or the PHC.

“We also referred to the Election Commission’s decision to give specific seats to the BAP party in the court. To which, the ECP said that they do not know why they gave reserved seats to the BAP, so this decision cannot be used as an example here,” he said.

Meanwhile, SIC Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza took a strong exception to the statement of Sher Afzal Marwat in which he termed the decision of an alliance with the SIC a mistake and advise to the PTI to put its house in order.

The SIC chairman took to ‘X’ and posted that it is better that PTI friends resolve their issues at home and that the decision to join the SIC was taken by Imran Khan. “I did not make any request,” he posted.

He stated that he has many thing to tell from election symbol to reserved seats, and if he sits in talk shows and say something then many people will not be able to show their faces.

“My commitment is with Imran Khan and will always be and I can’t think bad of Imran Khan just for media publicity and that was the reason that I keep silent. Don’t fool others by taking instructions,” he said.

Meanwhile, PTI KP chapter spokesperson and secretary general of Insaf Lawyers Forum Moazzam Butt Advocate blamed the party counsel Qazi Anwar advocate and Adviser to KP chief minister Mashal Yousafzai for the party’s failure to obtain the reserved seats of the assemblies through court cases.

Moazzam Butt told journalists, “The case seeking reserved seats in the legislature was initiated by Qazi Anwar Advocate. But Qazi Anwar did not argue the case properly. Otherwise, it would have been possible for us to get the reserved seats in the legislature.”

He said that the responsibility for the failure lies not only with Qazi Anwar and also party leader Mashal Yousafzai, who currently serves as adviser. He said that Mashal was acting as “everyone’s mentor” in the party, overstepping the senior party leaders, adding that such actions have negative consequences.

The PHC recently rejected the plea of the Sunni Ittehad Council, an ally of PTI, regarding the reserved seats.