ISLAMABAD: The PTI will not attend meetings of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) without prior consultations with its incarcerated chief Imran Khan, said PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Monday.
“The party will take a final decision whether or not to attend future meetings of the JCP after consultations with the PTI founder,” said Barrister Gohar in a media interaction at the Supreme Court. The JCP was reconstituted again in light of the 27th Amendment, which was passed by parliament despite reservations by the opposition and civil society groups.
Earlier this month, the JCP met multiple times to confirm judges’ appointments to high courts, but the PTI leaders, barristers Gohar and Ali Zafar, did not participate in these meetings.
When asked why the PTI skipped these meetings, Barrister Gohar explained that the status of the commission had
changed after the 27th Amendment and the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). He said the party, despite concerns over the 26th Amendment, shared its input in the selection of superior judges, but then routine meetings with Mr Khan were barred. He said they had decided to stay away from the JCP meetings as they were already boycotting the committee meetings, adding that a final decision about the JCP could only be made after consultations with Imran Khan.
Referring to the claims by the JUI-F that the notification of Mehmood Khan Achakzai as the National Assembly opposition leader was issued at the behest of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Barrister Gohar said that, according to his understanding, it was the discretion of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to issue the notification. The PTI was already making efforts for the early appointment of the opposition leader, but it was still great whoever did it, he said. “I understand that it was done by the speaker for which we are grateful,” he observed.
To another question about the appointment of the opposition leader in the Senate, Barrister Gohar said that they had been told that the notification of the opposition leader in the Senate would be issued in a few days. He said PTI had already filed its nomination before the Senate Secretariat, which was complete in all aspects.
“Since the PTI founder has already nominated leaders of the opposition in both houses, it will be better if they are appointed soon,” he said.
In October 2025, PTI had nominated Mr Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas as its candidates for the slots of leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate, respectively.
Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2026
