PTI places its faith in three CJs.
For the party, the next two months will be significant in terms of court rulings.
ISLAMABAD: Three chief justices will play a major role in the coming months as the PTI protests the executive steps taken against their party leaders and the postponement of the elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the legislation, each chief judge has the authority to fix cases and is the master of the roster.
The PTI is looking to three chief justices, CJP Umar Ata Bandial, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti, and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, in order to obtain relief in cases involving violations of human rights as well as the postponement of elections in the two provinces, as the party’s leaders and activists are having a difficult time with the executive authorities.
The Punjab and K-P elections’ delay has already been noted by CJP Bandial.
The CJP Bandial has given instructions to declare the date of elections in the two provinces despite the internal disputes among the judges.
Election day in Punjab has been set, according to PTI president Dr. Arif Alvi.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also released a schedule for the elections in Punjab.
The K-P governor hasn’t yet disclosed the province’s election date, though. He is the subject of a contempt complaint from the PTI.
Elections in Punjab are planned to take place on April 30, however this is still uncertain.
Elections in both provinces are resisted by the governing authorities.
The federal administration is making excuses for failing to set aside the almost Rs60 billion required for holding the polls, despite the fact that it is now short on money.
According to a government official, parliament would need to enact a bill in order for there to be a supplementary grant—an unlikely outcome given the current circumstances.
All eyes are now on CJP Bandial to decide whether or not he will order the administration to organize the funds and security for the elections.
The PTI is open to discussions with political parties about holding both the national and provincial assembly elections on the same day.
Imran Khan, the head of the PTI and the recently ousted prime minister, recently penned two letters to CJP Bandial thanking him for his attention to the civil liberties problems he and other party leaders were experiencing.
The question of whether or not CJP Bandial would provide relief to the party in the upcoming few months has come up as the PTI leaders are having a difficult time due to the actions of “strong circles.”
Within the institution, Justice Bandial is now dealing with personal difficulties.
First, there are ideological differences among the Supreme Court justices.
Second, audio leaks are being made public to amuse a select group of SC judges.
Since the public publication of their video and audio recordings, it has been observed that one branch of the court is under intense pressure from both inside and outside.
The CJP is also being accused of defending a SC judge who is being accused of “favoring” the PTI by superior courts, where the Independent Lawyers Group is in the majority.
In the current circumstances, the Professional Lawyers Group has remained mute. Yet, a few members of this group are supporting the SC judge.
Imran’s eligibility will finally be decided by the IHC on all issues.
Also being discussed is how IHC CJ Farooq will handle these issues.
The PTI is unable to obtain relief in cases involving civil freedoms during Justice Farooq’s time as chief justice of the high court, in contrast to former IHC CJ Athar Minallah.
A PTI lawyer, however, claimed that the party had been successful in getting some relief from the IHC in recent weeks.
He continued, “This is good news for the PTI.”
The Punjab caretaker administration is causing problems for the PTI as well.
The party has so far been successful in obtaining some relief from the LHC over the past year.
Whether or not the PTI will continue to receive respite from the LHC in the upcoming several months is not yet certain.
