LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders have shown mixed reactions to the Supreme Court decision of setting aside the National Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling to dismiss the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly.

PTI Punjab President Shafqat Mahmood said the party welcomed the Supreme Court bench’s unanimous decision and added that his party, however, was expecting a different judgement.

When contacted, PTI leader and Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said atrocity had been committed against the sovereignty of the country by supporting the change of regime by the western powers. She said it was really painful that this move had been supported by the judiciary.

“I wish the judiciary should have gone into the details of the conspiracy hatched by the foreign powers against a sovereign country.”

She said she would continue standing with Imran Khan in his fight against corruption and money laundering.

“It is sad for the people like us, who fought against three martial laws, to see the country back to square one,” she added.

Dr Rashid said the PTI’s fight was not for his seat but a struggle to clean Pakistan of corruption, and added that Khan would continue his fight and party’s die-hard workers were standing with him.

She said PM Khan was holding PTI parliamentary party and core committee meetings on Friday (today).

Former minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, who has been appointed as spokesman for PTI’s CM candidate Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, welcomed the SC decision and in the same breath added that the court should have also taken a prompt decision on floor-crossing.

He said the Constitution’s Article 63A clearly stated that the defection clause invokes when a party member joins hands with the other party in the assembly. He said the opposition parties had committed horse-trading and bought PTI members by offering heavy bribe.

“The court should take immediate notice of floor-crossing so that the PTI elected parliamentarians be checked from polling their votes to any other party’s candidate for the top slots in the Centre and Punjab.”

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2022