PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar on Monday urged National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to actively intervene to reduce political tensions and warned that confrontation with state institutions could push the country towards instability.
During the NA session chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Barrister Gohar said the country could not afford further chaos and stressed that any escalation against institutions would be dangerous.
He requested the Speaker to play a role in resolving the leadership issue regarding the Leader of the Opposition and wider political tensions.
Responding to the appeal, the NA speaker said that blaming institutions would achieve nothing and stressed that solutions could only emerge through dialogue.
He clarified that the case concerning the opposition leader was pending and added that he would announce a decision as soon as a court order was received.
The speaker accepted Gohar’s offer to help initiate negotiations and once again called on both the government and the opposition to return to negotiations.
The speaker further stated that he remained ready to play his part, saying it takes two to tango and assured that he would also engage with the government.
He warned that statements directed at institutions were not in the national interest, stressing that neither parliament nor the country benefits from such rhetoric.
He added that institutions belonged to everyone, guarded the country’s borders and were committed to fighting terrorism and urged members to focus on the constitutional responsibilities of parliament, saying sustainable solutions could only be achieved through dialogue in parliament.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House, on Monday questioned the legality of what he described as a ban on the party and asked how such an 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 the party’s president.
In response to Gohar’s earlier letter, the ECP said he had on November 13 sought recognition of the affiliation of independent senators with the PTI.
The commission noted that the PTI inter-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 chairman as he had no legal authority.
On 13 January 2024, a three-member bench upheld the ECP’s 22 December 2023, declaring PTI’s intra-party polls invalid.
Later, the PTI candidates were to contest the February 8, 2024 general election as independents.
Eighty such independent candidates reached the National Assembly and later joined the SIC in an apparent attempt to demand reserved seats for women and minorities. However, the ECP refused to allot the seats to the party, a decision which the SIC challenged in the Supreme Court.
On 12 July 2024, a full bench of the apex court by a majority of eight to five reinstated PTI as a parliamentary party, noting that 39 of the legislators who had submitted certificates of their affiliation with PTI along with their nomination papers were already PTI legislators.
The Supreme Court ruled that the remaining 41 legislators who had not submitted the affiliation certificates at the time of submission of nomination papers could do so now within a period of 15 days.
The ruling coalition later filed a review petition against the Supreme Court decision, which the Constitutional Court took up in May.
Gohar said the Chief Electoral Officer had not given PTI any written notice or certificate regarding a ban on the party. “If no certificate has been issued, how can the Election Commission ban PTI?” he asked.
He said PTI’s Balochistan branch did not field any candidates for the local government elections and the party contested the general elections on the platform of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The PTI chairman said banning political parties was not a solution, adding that it was unfortunate for the country whose politics, even two years later, continued to revolve around the May 9 events.
He said the country’s 250 million people looked to parliament with hopes of improvement.
Gohar said no politics should be played over the meeting between PTI founder Imran Khan and his sisters and stressed that efforts to reduce tensions between institutions and political parties must continue. Dialogue between political and democratic forces, he said, leads to better results.
Drawing an international comparison, he noted that Europe had fought world wars but now shared a common currency and passport, adding that some elements did not want Pakistan’s situation to improve. He alleged that “Form-47 beneficiaries” were also against positive changes.
He said the culture of blame must end, adding that doors for dialogue in politics should always remain open.
