Islamabad, October 21,2024-The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) review petition challenging the court’s ruling on intra-party elections. Additionally, the court turned down PTI’s request to constitute a larger bench to hear the case.
The case was heard on Monday by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Musarrat Hilali. During the proceedings, Chief Justice Isa addressed PTI’s senior counsel, Hamid Khan, noting that the party had failed to identify any errors in the earlier judgement. He remarked, “If you have arguments, present them; otherwise, we will dictate the order,” emphasizing his preference for direct discussions rather than public commentary through media.
Hamid Khan expressed reservations, stating that he was unable to argue before a judge he believed to be biased against his party. In response, Chief Justice Isa clarified that a review petition is meant solely to highlight mistakes in the original ruling, and PTI’s submission did not address any such errors.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar pointed out that the Election Act imposes penalties on political parties that fail to conduct intra-party elections, including the potential loss of their electoral symbol. He stressed that this provision applies uniformly to all political parties.
Chief Justice Isa concluded by reaffirming the importance of intra-party elections, describing them as a cornerstone of democracy.
