Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan announced on Thursday that his party would challenge the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) in the reserved seats case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Barrister Gohar’s statement came hours after the PHC dismissed PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) refusal to allocate reserved seats to the party.
Talking to reporters in the federal capital, Barrister Gohar said the PTI would hold a public meeting on March 23 and it would announce the venue for the gathering within a day or two. He said that PTI’s winning candidates were being deprived of their seats through recount of votes in various constituencies. He asked the Supreme Court to form a larger bench to hear the reserved seats case. He reiterated his stance that the parliament would remain incomplete until his party is given the due share in reserved seats.
Also on Thursday, Barrister Gohar alleged that ECP was hatching a conspiracy against his party by accepting pleas for recount of votes in various constituencies where PTI candidates had won in the February 8 general elections. He told reporters, “Recounting can’t be done after consolidation of results. Only pleas against PTI are being accepted.”
He said the ECP was conspiring to change the victories of PTI candidates into defeats through recounting of votes.
In a related development, PTI leader in Karachi Khurrum Sher Zaman expressed disappointment with the PHC decision on reserved seats. Taking to X, he wrote, “Very disappointing decision by [PHC] but we will continue to fight on to get out rightful seats in all assemblies through Supreme Court.”
