• Seeks fair polls, level playing field
• ‘Bat’ will be PTI’s poll symbol, says spokesman
• Panel set up for political engagement

ISLAMABAD: The Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday presented a 24-point Charter of Demands (CoD) to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asking the watchdog to ensure free, fair and transparent general elections and provide level playing field to it so that the party can freely run its campaign in the run-up to the Feb 8 polls.

The PTI’s legal team comprising Barrister Ali Zafar, Gohar Ali Khan and Dr Babar Awan presented the CoD to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja during their 45-minute-long meeting.

The PTI delegation shared its concerns pertaining to the elections and pointed out “obstacles” to the party’s election campaign.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, PTI spokesperson Barrister Gohar Ali urged the electoral watchdog to release the long-pending written decision on the petitions filed by PTI on Oct 18 and 30 regarding the party’s electoral symbol ‘bat’ to put an end to the prevailing uncertainty once and for all.

He said the ECP should instantly allot the party with the electoral symbol “bat” and provide level playing field.

PTI spokesperson said the CEC had assured them that ‘bat’ was PTI’s electoral symbol and it would be on the ballot paper in the upcoming elections, hoping that the ECP would sort out the issue within the next two days.

He highlighted that in the CoD, PTI also demanded the release and recovery of “kidnapped” and arrested PTI workers and leaders. Barrister Ali said that they informed the ECP that PTI was not being allowed to hold public gatherings, rallies and corner meetings on private premises.

The spokesperson pointed out that either their requests for holding public meetings were unduly delayed or even flatly refused.

He said that during the meeting they highlighted the challenges being faced by PTI in holding meetings and printing flags and banners, as the party was not even allowed to print its flags and banners.

Barrister Ali said there were untold obstacles to their election campaign and hence, they had requested for the issuance of a notification by the ECP to enable a ‘fair and just’ electoral process.

He stated that they also took up the issue of release of huge funds by the caretaker government, adding that the caretaker government’s move of releasing funds was beyond their constitutional mandate and authority.

Moreover, the spokesperson drew ECP’s attention towards the appointment of PML-N candidates as chairpersons of the Power Distri­bution Companies, which was a clear pre-poll rigging and the commission should take instant notice of it.

In reply to a question, the spokesperson categorically stated that Imran Khan was, is and would be the chairman of PTI even if he remains in incarceration and it was out of question to have election without the participation of Imran Khan.

He stressed that it was the constitutional responsibility of the ECP to maintain a level playing field for all political parties; therefore, the electoral body should play its constitutional role in this regard.

Mr Ali said the CEC had assured them that the institution would leave no stone unturned and would take all possible steps to conduct free, fair and transparent elections in the country.

Political engagement body

The PTI has formulated a five-member political engagement committee to ensure transparency and level playing field during the elections.

PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan said the charter of demands had been presented in the context of developments following the last meeting with the ECP. In a statement, he said PTI was being continuously denied level playing field.

He said PTI members were continuously being politically victimised through illegal arrests and enforced disappearances. He said the PTI chairman was in jail in a baseless and concocted case.

According to the notification, Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, Senator Dr Humayun Mohmand, Ali Mohammad Khan, Ali Asghar Khan and PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan are members of the committee.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2023