Pakistan Election Commission fixes hearing of Imran Khan's party's intra-party polls for today

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 18 : The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has fixed the hearing of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) intra-party election case for today, Geo News reported.
The supervisory body of ECP issued notices to PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and the party's information secretary Raoof Hassan to present their arguments before the ECP's bench hearing the matter.
The case dates back to 2023, when the electoral watchdog revoked PTI's bat symbol over unlawful polls in the Imran Khan-founded party, according to Geo News report. Notably, PTI held the intra-party elections on June 9, 2022. The ECP annulled PTI's intra-party polls in December 2023 as the case was dragged for around one and a half year.
Later, the Supreme Court upheld the electoral watchdog's decision to deprive the opposition party of its symbol 'bat' that forced the PTI candidates to contest the general elections on February 8 as independents.
Later, the PTI then held another intra-party poll in March 2024, which was also challenged in the ECP. Earlier this month, PTI faced a setback after the electoral watchdog rejected its petition seeking delay in the hearing of the case about its intra-party elections till the clarification is issued by the Supreme Court on its July 12 ruling on the reserved seats case.
In its verdict, the ECP stated that the Imran Khan-founded party had already delayed the issue of intra-party polls a lot and it wouldn't be appropriate to defer the matter any further. The 10-page ECP order written by ECP member Sindh Nisar Ahmed Durrani, rejected all four applications of the PTI, Geo News reported.
In its four separate applications, the PTI raised questions over the ECP's jurisdiction to look into intra-party elections and asked the electoral watchdog to issue directions to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to return the record taken away during a raid at the party's central secretariat and requested adjournment of the intra-party polls case till the detailed judgement of the Supreme Court in the reserved seats case, and receipt of the guidelines from the Supreme Court sought by the ECP to implement the verdict in the same case.
On September 14, PTI founder Imran Khan launched a scathing attack on Pakistan's ruling coalition and the country's institutions, comparing the current situation with the era of military ruler Yahya Khan and alleged that the country's institutions are being "destroyed.' Condemning the crackdown on PTI, Imran Khan called the current 'establishment' as "Yahya Khan part 2".
A social media post on Khan's X account read, "The country is currently experiencing Yahya Khan's (Martial Law Dictator) rule all over again. (General) Yahya Khan conducted an operation against the country's largest political party. Yahya Khan Part Two is doing the same and destroying the country's institutions."Further, he launched a scathing attack at the ruling coalition, terming them "Yahya Khan part two."
"The tout caretaker government of Yahya Khan Part Two gifted Judge Humayun Dilawar with land worth billions of Rupees and illegal NOCs (No Objection Certificate) in return for delivering a guilty verdict that led to my imprisonment. Even the other day, the judge was given instructions for three hours before he gave the verdict against Bushra (Khan)," he added.
Imran Khan, in his post, further alleged that Qazi Faez Isa has been given an extension because he is giving them "protection from accountability" for their role in human rights violations and election rigging.
Stepping up his attack, Imran Khan said there is "no point" in calling Shehbaz Sharif the Prime Minister, as he is merely a "tout" and his decisions are subject of approval from the 'establishment.'
"There is no point in calling Shehbaz Sharif the Prime Minister. He is merely a tout whose decisions are subject to approval from the establishment. Who knows, this tout may end up being forcibly disappeared tomorrow," he stated.