ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Wednesday deliberated whether to challenge the 26th Constitutional Amend­ment in the Supreme Court and endorsed the boycott of the parliamentary committee meeting that nominated Justice Yahya Afridi as the new chief justice of Pakistan.

At a meeting of its core committee presided by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the party condemned the ban on Imran Khan’s meeting with his wife Bushra Bibi. The former PM and his spouse are both kept in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, in various cases.

The meeting’s participants were of the view that an incomplete Senate had no basis to pass the constitutional amendment.

The meeting, attended by Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, ex-NA speaker Asad Qaiser, Leader of Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz, Ali Muhammad Khan, Raoof Hasan, Sheikh Waqas Akram and others, condemned the alleged horse-trading during the passage of the controversial amendment.

Backs decision to boycott panel that picked new CJP; condemns ‘ban’ on Imran-Bushra meeting

They discussed the possibility of challenging the constitutional amendment in the apex court and referred the matter to the party’s legal committee for a decision.

The core committee endorsed the show-cause notices issued to the party’s four MNAs who were not in contact with the party leadership at the time of the passage of the constitutional amendment. It called upon the government to lift the ban on meetings between ex-PM Imran Khan and his wife.

A strategy was discussed on how to get Mr Khan released from the prison. The meeting decided to establish sub-committees to plan countrywide protests and start preparations in this regard.

The core committee condemned the arrest of the sisters of Imran Khan, Azam Swati and others and demanded their release at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2024