Barrister Gohar rules out possibility of ‘ban’ on PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Tuesday ruled out possibility of a ‘potential ban’ on party following Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict that upheld the Dec 22 decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) depriving PTI of its iconic symbol — ‘bat’, ARY News reported.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa-led three-member bench announced the verdict, dealing a huge blow to Imran Khan-led PTI’s hopes of retaining its symbol.

As a result, the PTI candidates will now be contesting the elections independently with different electoral symbols while the party no longer has the right to reserved seats for women and minorities.

Speaking at ARY News programme ‘Khabbar’, the senior lawyer said that now the PTI has been stripped of its iconic symbol – bat, it doesn’t mean that the party has been dissolved, reiterating to file review petition in Supreme Court against its verdict.

Barrister Gohar noted that the PTI would not hold immediate intra-party elections, but first file a review appeal in the Supreme Court. Moreover, he said, they will not object to changing the bench of the Supreme Court or to the chief justice.

He maintained that the PTI’s intra-party elections were in accordance with the Constitution and were conducted in a ‘transparent manner’.

The PTI chairman pointed out that they did not criticise or express distrust of anyone in the judiciary. “We do not attack judges or conduct campaigns against them,” he said, citing example of PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The remarks came hours after the caretaker government on Tuesday constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate a campaign reportedly launched against the judiciary.

Additional Director General (Cyber Crime Wing) FIA would be the Convener of the committee, which comprises representatives of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and DIG Islamabad Police.

The JIT would ascertain facts behind “malicious social media campaign” attempting to malign the image of Judges of the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Barrister Gohar ruled out possibility of a ‘potential ban’ on party, vowing to resist strongly if such development occurs. “When it comes to ban on PTI, a full court should hear the matter,” he added.