At today’s hearing, barrister Gohar maintained that not only had the Election Commission of Pakistan produced a notice about PTI’s internal elections but it had also set its sights on the party’s provincial structure. But he also explained why the PTI had refused to approach the Islamabad High Court, saying he was afraid that party members might be arrested.
To capture this sense of urgency, barrister Gohar even went so far as to point out that by tomorrow’s nomination paper deadline, the party would have no election symbol and all PTI candidates would be seen as independents. He declared that a political party has the right to choose its intra-party election method, and he connected it to electoral symbols.
Frustrated, he charged the ECP with delaying and discriminating against the PTI. Justices Shah and Ahmed also raised doubts about the ECP’s handling, with Justice Shah suggesting that those treating him had been unfair.
Gohar barrister, explained that those seeking to review the intra-party polls were no longer in the PTI and presented a list of PTI members at court. According to ECP counsel Mohsin Kamran, the polls were challenged, and the court inquired where the controversy had arisen.
The court also asked the ECP to resolve it, with a reservation that if this position was maintained then there would be an opportunity to appeal to the ECP later.
