ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf expressed its inability in the Supreme Court on Monday to answer a set of tricky questions earlier raised by two parliamentary parties which accused protesters of implicating the armed forces in the sit-in on the Constitution Avenue.

“The answering respondent (PTI) does not have benefit of knowledge of these facts giving rise to the questions and, therefore, is unable to specifically respond to any apprehensions that the parliamentary parties have,” said a four-page reply submitted by Barrister Yousuf Khosa, the counsel for the PTI.

At the last hearing on Sept 10, the apex court had asked the PTI as well as the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) to file replies to three questions raised by Senator Raza Rabbani, representing the Awami National Party and the Balochistan National Party-Awami.

A five-judge larger bench is hearing 11 identical petitions filed by bar associations of different high courts against sit-ins by the PTI and PAT.

The PAT is likely to submit its reply on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Mr Rabbani had expressed apprehensions about some unconstitutional steps against the backdrop of the sit-ins.

He asked whether any political party or group could at all seek holders of constitutional offices to disengage from office under threat of violence or use of force in violation of the Constitution; whether any political leader could legitimately involve the Pakistan Army in his design to achieve his unconstitutional objectives by attempting to reassure his followers that the army by a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would determine the future course of his action; and whether a political leader could claim to have the support of the army to their cause in public or private communications, thereby compromising the image of a national institution.

The PTI said in its reply that it was only exercising its rights to make the people aware of their rights and obligations of the present government in a democratic society within the framework of the Constitution and stressing the supremacy of the Constitution which included Article 218 dealing with the Election Commission.

“The guiding principles of the Constitution, namely democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, are part of the PTI manifesto.”

To substantiate its argument, the rely cited a 1993 Supreme Court judgment in the Nawaz Sharif case in which it was held that ordinary conception of a political party included a right within the framework of the Constitution to exert itself through its following and organisation and, using all available channels of mass communication, to propagate its view in relation to the whole complex of the administrative machine, including legislatures, to ameliorate general conditions like improvements in administrative procedures and policies as well as in the legislative field even to the extent of proposing and pressing for amendment to the Constitution itself.

However, the PTI emphasised that it did not intend to support, let alone demand any unconstitutional or extra-constitutional means to achieve its democratic and constitutionally guaranteed rights and would continue to oppose any such unconstitutional adventures if and when these surfaced to demand and uphold the separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, the rule of law and the Constitution to take this great nation forward rather than backward.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2014