PTI leadership urges SC to take suo motu notice of crackdown on party\u2019s MNAs in aftermath of reserved seats verdict
\n Islamabad
\nThe country is bracing for a fresh round of protests as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced to take to streets across Pakistan on August 5, demanding the release of its founder Imran Khan and a relief for inflation-broken masses.
\nThe former ruling party has been calling for Imran\u2019s release, who has been behind bars for over a year. The deposed prime minister was arrested from Lahore on August 5, 2023, after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.
\nThe protest call was made by PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser during a press conference on Sunday, jointly addressed by the party\u2019s Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan and others in Islamabad.
\n\u201cAugust 5 marks the day of PTI founder\u2019s arrest, we will stage protests on that day,\u201d Qaiser said while referring to the deposed prime minister\u2019s arrest in the Toshakhana case.
\n\u2018PTI members facing a vicious witch-hunt\u2019
\nLamenting the indiscriminate crackdown against the party, the former National Assembly speaker alleged that the PTI lawmakers and social media activists were currently facing a vicious witch-hunt.
\n\u201cThis crackdown is being done after the Supreme Court\u2019s verdict [on the reserved seats],\u201d he said, urging the apex court to take a suo motu notice on the matter.
\nThe Supreme Court, in its short order on July 12, allowed the PTI to receive seats in the assemblies reserved for women and minorities.
\nIn the landmark ruling, the apex court directed the PTI to submit a list of its eligible candidates for reserved seats to the electoral body within 15 days of the verdict.
\nThe ECP should then publish the list of reserved seats of the candidates on its website within seven days, the SC ruling stated.
\nHowever, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) filed a review petition against the SC ruling declaring the PTI eligible for the reserved seats.
\nAs the authorities continue to round up PTI leaders and activists in different cases, Qaiser said that \u201cbaseless cases\u201d against them should be stopped.
\nHe alleged that \u201c41 MNAs are being forced to quit the party\u201d. He censured that the parliament would lose its superior status if parliamentarians were being insulted in such a way. \u201cWe also invite all political parties to sit with us against the imposition of a \u2018fake and mandate-less government\u2019\u201d.
\n\u2018Sit-in on D-Chowk on cards\u2019
\nMeanwhile, PTI Secretary General Omar alleged that the incumbent government continued to mistreat the party\u2019s lawmakers and that the party workers and leaders were being made to disappear.
\n\u201cCases are being lodged against Sheikh Waqas and his aides. We strongly condemn this fascism,\u201d he added.
\nThe leader of the opposition in the National Assembly said that his party would hold a key session to decide on future strategy as a sit-in on D-Chowk, Islamabad, was on the cards alongside other options.
\nHe reiterated that a fresh election was the only remedy to all issues in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PTI leadership urges SC to take suo motu notice of crackdown on party\u2019s MNAs in aftermath of reserved seats verdict Islamabad The country is bracing for a fresh round of protests as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced to take to streets across Pakistan on August 5, demanding the release of its founder Imran Khan and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-421270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n