Islamabad:
The Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP) on Tuesday a great blow to the PTI parliamentary muscle, disqualifying several of the main opposition leaders of the party on the day that marked the second anniversary of Imran Khan’s arrest with protests throughout the country.
The ax was hard, sweeping the parliamentary leadership of the party in both cameras, after a recent ruling of an anti -terrorism court (ATC) in Faisalabad. The court issued prison sentences of up to 10 years to more than 100 leaders and workers of PTI, including the key figures of the opposition, for their alleged participation in the disturbances of May 9, caused by Khan’s dramatic arrest in 2023.
Those non -lordships include the opposition leader of the Senate, Shibli Faraz, the opposition leader of the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, the head of the Sunita Ittehad, Sahibzada Hamid Raza and the parliamentary leader of PTI Sartaj Gul.
Three members of the Punjab Assembly, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Junaid Afzal Sahi and Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, have also been disqualified.
Acting on the convictions, the ECP issued a formal notification that disqualifies nine legislators under article 63 (1) (h) of the Constitution, which prohibits any person convicted of a crime that involves moral turbitude and sentenced to two or more years of prison for occupying an elected position.
“A person will be disqualified from being chosen or chosen as, and being, a member of Majlis-E-Shorara (Parliament) if it has been, for condemnation for any crime that involves moral turpitud, sentenced to prison for a period of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has passed since its release, article 63 (1) (h) is read.
The ECP declared that the legislators had been convicted and sentenced, now “they are disqualified by virtue of article 63 (1) (h) of the Constitution,” and added that “consequently, their seats have been vacant.”
The nine had been declared guilty by the ATC for their alleged roles in the disturbances of May 9, when PTI supporters, outraged by Khan’s arrest outside the Superior Court of Islamabad, assaulted and destroyed military facilities, including the monuments of the martyrs. The PTI had previously stated that any attempt to arrest Khan would cross his “red line.”
Then, the military declared on May 9 as a “black day”, calling him a “dark chapter” in national history. However, the PTI has constantly affirmed that the events were a “false-base operation” orchestrated by the establishment to frame the party and crush the dissent.
The ECP movement landed just when PTI was reviving street agitation to commemorate the anniversary of Khan’s arrest. With the latest disqualifications, the ruling alliance led by PML-N is now practically without being questioned in Parliament, deepening the political vacuum and pressing the rope around what remains of the opposition.
In reaction to the ECP decision, Ayub declared in X that he was grateful for the opportunity to serve as an opposition leader in NA.
In expressing that its leader, Imran Khan and his colleagues had nominated him, said he has been unleashed as MNA Na18 Haripur and opposition leader “due to a false verdict of Judge Atc Faisalabad Sheikh Javed Iqbal, who has convinced me incorrectly for 10 years.”
Ayub also declared that the court “was based on the evidence of the witnesses of prosecution that were rejected by the Sargodha judge of the ATC last year, and we were acquitted.” He said the verdict demonstrates “there is no rule of law in Pakistan.”
“This hybrid regime and its sponsors were disturbed by my position as the leader of the opposition to declare the truth and hold them responsible,” he said.
He promised to question both the ATC verdict and the disqualification of the ECP in the Court, expressing the hope that the president of the Supreme Court Yahya Afridi will take note of what he called the “deplorable state of things in the Judicial Power of Pakistan.”
Ayub ended with a challenging note, saying: “I was, I am, and I will be a worker of the Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI.”
