PTI Chairman, Advocate Gohar. Photo: Archive
ISLAMABAD:
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar on Monday urged National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to actively intervene to reduce political tension, warning that confrontation with state institutions could push the country towards instability.
During the National Assembly session chaired by President Ayaz Sadiq, Barrister Gohar said the country could not afford more chaos and emphasized that any escalation against the institutions would be dangerous.
He called on the speaker to play a role in resolving the leadership issue affecting the opposition leader and broader political tensions.
Responding to the call, the National Assembly spokesperson said that blaming the institutions would achieve nothing and stressed that solutions could only emerge through dialogue.
He clarified that the matter related to the opposition leader was sub judice, adding that he would announce a decision as soon as he received a court order.
Accepting Gohar’s offer to help start talks, the speaker once again called on both the government and the opposition to return to negotiations.
The speaker further stated that he was willing to play his part, stating that it takes two to tango and assured that he would also engage with the government.
He warned that the statements directed against the institutions were not in the national interest and stressed that neither parliament nor the country benefited from such rhetoric.
He added that the institutions belonged to everyone, were protecting the country’s borders and were committed to fighting terrorism and urged members to focus on parliament’s constitutional responsibilities, saying sustainable solutions could only be achieved through dialogue within parliament.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters outside Parliament, PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan on Monday questioned the legality of what he described as a ban on the party and asked how such action could be taken without the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issuing any formal certificate.
On Sunday, the poll watchdog refused to recognize Gohar as party president.
Responding to Gohar’s earlier letter, the ECP said that on November 13 it had sought recognition of the membership of independent senators in the PTI.
The commission noted that PTI’s intra-party election case was still pending and the party had obtained a stay order from the Lahore High Court (LHC). According to the ECP, he could not be recognized as PTI president because he had no legal authority.
On January 13, 2024, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court upheld the ECP’s December 22, 2023 order declaring PTI’s intra-party polls null and void.
Subsequently, PTI candidates had to contest the February 8, 2024 general elections as independents.
Eighty of these independent candidates reached the National Assembly and later joined the SIC in an apparent attempt to claim seats reserved for women and minorities. The ECP, however, refused to allocate the seats to the party, a decision which the SIC challenged before the Supreme Court.
On July 12, 2024, a full bench of the apex court, by a majority of eight to five, resurrected the PTI as a parliamentary party, noting that 39 of the legislators who had submitted certificates of their PTI membership along with their nomination papers were already PTI legislators.
The top court ruled that the remaining 41 legislators who had not submitted membership certificates at the time of filing nomination papers could now do so within a period of 15 days.
The ruling coalition subsequently filed a review petition against the high court ruling, which the Constitutional Chamber accepted in May.
Gohar said the election supervisor had not provided PTI with any written notification or certificate regarding the party’s ban. “If no certificate has been issued, how can the election commission impose a ban on PTI?” asked.
He said the PTI’s Balochistan chapter did not field any candidate in the local government elections and the party contested the general elections on the platform of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The PTI president said banning political parties was not a solution, adding that it would be unfortunate for the country if, even two years later, politics continued to revolve around the events of May 9.
He said the country’s 250 million people looked to parliament in the hope of improvement.
Gohar said that politics should not be played in the meeting between PTI founder Imran Khan and his sisters and emphasized that efforts should continue to reduce tensions between institutions and political parties. He said that dialogue between political and democratic forces leads to better results.
Drawing an international comparison, he noted that Europe had fought world wars but now shared a single currency and passport, adding that some elements did not want Pakistan’s situation to improve. He alleged that “form 47 beneficiaries” were also opposed to positive change.
He said the culture of blame must come to an end, adding that the doors to dialogue in politics must always remain open.
