[ad_1]
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) will shortly hear the PTI’s petition seeking a level playing field in the upcoming general elections.
Headed by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, a bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah will hear the plea filed by PTI Chairman Gohar Khan.
Ahead of the hearing, the apex court summoned Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The decision to take up the plea today was taken by the same bench during a separate hearing on former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s bails in the cipher case.
In the petition filed a day earlier, Gohar said the PTI should be allowed to contest elections without any discrimination.
The request was made in a petition filed through Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, which names as respondent the federation, ECP, chief secretaries of KP, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.
Earlier on Dec 19, the PTI had approached the ECP, but it failed to issue any order to ensure transparency and fairness of the elections. This situation is damaging the integrity of the country, the petition argued, adding that feeling aggrieved, the petitioner then filed a plea before the LHC, Rawalpindi bench, which is yet to hear the case.
It is the responsibility of ECP to hold fair elections, the petition said. But, it added, the district managements are not treating PTI on a par with other parties. Even after the issuance of the election schedule, PTI was not being allowed to hold workers’ conventions, corner meetings or any such political gatherings, the petition alleged.
Besides, FIRs are being registered due to political activities, raids being conducted on the houses of PTI leaders and workers, and orders under Section 3 of MPO are being passed, the petition alleged.
It said such acts were illegal and tyrannical, adding these “atrocities” were being carried out in violation of the Constitution, Elections Act, 2017 and most importantly, against the fundamental rights of the citizens.
[ad_2]
Source link
