LAHORE – The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has strongly objected to additional clauses being added to the May 9 cases and has urged the Supreme Court to take notice of the new allegations made against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and other party members.
A spokeswoman for the PTI said on Thursday that the new clauses added to the May 9 cases are an attempt to cover up the real perpetrators.
He asked the Supreme Court to look at the politicised use of serious charges like sedition against the PTI.
The spokesperson also demanded that the highest court punish police officers and prosecutors responsible for this abuse of power.
The spokesperson reiterated Imran Khan’s call for an independent judicial investigation into the events of May 9 and said that the levelling of serious charges against the leaders and members of the country’s largest party amounted to an appalling attempt to exact extrajudicial revenge.
According to the spokesperson, the continuous criminal measures against PTI under the guise of the happenings on May 9 reflect diabolical intents to remove the former premier and PTI from the political arena.
He pointed out that there were intentionally filed more than 180 false cases against the PTI chairman.
The spokesperson also noted that the PTI chief’s call for a high-level judicial inquiry into the riots had gone unanswered despite Imran Khan’s strong condemnation of the arson incidents of May 9 during his address to the Supreme Court.
The spokesperson criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for only committing to holding elections in January and without giving a specific date within that month.
The spokesperson stressed that elections must be held within a set period of 90 days after the dissolution of the legislature, as required by the Constitution.
He also noted that whatever date the electoral panel settles on in January will be beyond the constitutionally mandated 90-day deadline.
The spokesperson emphasised that the country cannot accept any date beyond the necessary 90-day timeframe until the Supreme Court renders a decisive ruling on the question of holding elections within 90 days.
The election commission, the spokesperson continued, has not established the conditions necessary for free and fair elections as mandated by the Constitution.
The spokesman added that the only way to lead the country and its people out of the current situation is for the ECP to fulfil its constitutional duty to conduct free, fair, and impartial elections.
