ISLAMABAD: Soon after the Supreme Court stayed the impending by-election in Lodhran, both the PTI and PML-N took to the airwaves to lambast each other. Both PTI chief Imran Khan and Information Minister Pervez Rasheed accused the other party of trying to run away from an election which each side said the other couldn’t win.

Holding forth from his Bani Gala residence, the PTI chairman said: “The ruling party, day in and day out, has been accusing us of quitting the electoral battlefield. After this stay order, one may ask, who is running away now?”

Mr Khan claimed the moment the government knew it had no chance of winning an election against Mr Tareen, it immediately returned to its time-tested modus operandi: securing a stay order.

In his last term as Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif remained in office on the basis of a stay order for four-and-a-half years. The current railways minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique, also took the same route after he was de-seated by an election tribunal some five months ago.

Take a look: SC suspends tribunal verdict to de-seat PML-N MNA, stays by-polls in NA-154

However, from his perch at the Press Information Department, the government’s chief spokesperson claimed that Mr Tareen’s lawyer had failed to argue his case before the apex court and, instead, asked for an adjournment.

“If Mr Tareen’s lawyer was not afraid of Siddique Baloch, why did he refrain from arguing the case, even though Mr Baloch’s counsel was ready to argue and reply to any objection and query from the other side,” he argued.

Mr Rashid also said that if the PTI was not afraid of Siddique Baloch, Mr Tareen’s lawyer could ask the Supreme Court to allow him to contest the elections.

Talking about the stay order, Mr Rashid said that the courts had also given stay orders in favour of PTI leaders. “Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Rai Hassan Nawaz and Hafeezuddin are some of the PTI leaders who are also [in office] on stay orders,” he said.

Asked why Mr Baloch had moved the apex court, despite the fact that the party had announced it would not go to the Supreme Court to challenge any election tribunal’s decision, the minister said: “We have said from day one that we will not challenge any decision against us and will contest by-elections, but we will move the court to set the record straight.”

The minister also accused Mr Tareen of using his influence and wealth to seek the support of other parties to secure the Lodhran by-election, but said that Siddique Baloch’s son Umair was all set to trounce Mr Tareen. “The Supreme Court decision has, in fact, saved the PTI chairman from grave humiliation,” the minister said.

Anti-ECP rally

Making another major announcement, Imran Khan said that instead of Islamabad, his party had decided to move their planned Oct 4 rally against provincial members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to Lahore. “To avoid a confrontation between the government and our charged crowds, the PTI will now hold its rally on Oct 9 in Lahore, as we were not allowed to hold the gathering at D-Chowk (Islamabad).”

However, talking to Dawn, a PTI office bearer said the decision to hold the rally in Lahore was made to boost the ongoing election campaign for NA-122.

The PTI chief said he was moving the rally to Lahore so he could personally take charge and lead the election campaign against former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq. He also said the party would issue a fresh date for the demonstration in Islamabad against ECP on Oct 11.

Asked whether he would accept the results of the NA-122 by-polls since they were being conducted by the same ECP as before, he said, “Let’s how the election is conducted.”

Published in Dawn, September 30th , 2015

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