ISLAMABAD: The verdict delivered by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench (CB) was highly disappointing and a “grave miscarriage of justice”, the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf said on Saturday.

It argued that the verdict on reserved seats for PTI should have been delivered only after deciding the fate of the 26th Amendment, stressing that a nation “plunges into darkness when justice is denied”.

However, PTI leaders made it clear that it would be wishful thinking to believe that the party’s candidates would betray “us by joining any other political group” because they have stood by the party in the face of “oppression and intimidation”.

Gohar Khan, the PTI chairman, addressed a press conference alongside Shibli Faraz, Leader of the Opposition in Senate, and Kanwal Shauzab, who heads the party’s women’s wing.

Gohar Khan recalled that the apex court had ruled in PTI’s favour last year, declaring the party eligible for a share of reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies. “But it is shocking that all of a sudden, a bench was constituted without following the due process solely to overturn the SC’s majority decision through a review petition,” the PTI chairman said. He questioned the urgency of deciding the case, contending that the CB should have delayed the proceedings until the controversy surrounding the 26th Amendment was resolved.

Says loyal candidates won’t join other parties despite intimidation

Gohar Khan said the PTI was doing its utmost to unite the nation. “But injustice continues to pursue us as the shadow of (ex-chief justice) Qazi Faez Isa still looms large.” He said attaining justice today had become even more difficult than what it was in the 1990s.

Speaking on the occasion, Shibli Faraz lamented that the Constitution had, in effect, been rewritten. He said that according to the Constitution, general elections were required to be held within 90 days, but they were not conducted within that timeframe.

He added that elections were held only after “the powers that be were satisfied that PTI poses no threat now”.

Mr Faraz said PTI secured a thumping majority across the country even without an election symbol, even though its candidates were “subjected to blackmail”.

He criticised the Election Commission’s role, recalling that Senate elections were not held in KP, even though they were held in Sindh and Punjab.

Kanwal Shauzab said the CB’s verdict was one of the “darkest decisions in Pakistan’s history”, as it not only insulted PTI’s voters and supporters but also trampled the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2025