Less than six weeks remain till general elections, and the political landscape is growing increasingly unstable as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seems to be making a comeback in the polls despite government efforts to repress it.
Amidst tidings of being barred from holding political rallies and public gatherings, the PTI is receiving significant legal reprieve. The party, which has been the target of severe legal and criminal proceedings against its senior officials and employees since the May 9 assaults, has benefited from this.
Conversely, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), widely regarded as the “King’s Party,” appears to be in a slumber mode, having taken significantly less action than anticipated to outmaneuver the PTI in Punjab, which is operating under intense pressure. Even with all of this purported administrative backing, the PMLN has not yet begun its mass mobilization campaign for the election.
A few recent court rulings have given the PTI leadership and its followers a tremendous deal of encouragement, while the PMLN waits for a “managed miracle” to take power. PTI officials and activists are feeling more enthused after the Supreme Court’s decision in the cipher case and the Peshawar High Court’s ruling against the ECP’s order to remove the PTI’s election emblem, the “bat.”
Imran Khan’s plea against the trial court’s in-camera proceedings was granted a stay order by the Islamabad High Court on Thursday, extending the trial’s duration until January 11. PTI leaders were concerned that Imran Khan would be found guilty in the cipher matter by the trial court at any point following the Supreme Court’s relief in the case. The PTI has now been successful in postponing the trial in accordance with the IHC stay decision.
The PTI legal team is also aggressively seeking legal avenues to have the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Toshakhana case, which took up on Wednesday, overturned. The case will now be heard when the justices return from their holidays due to the judges’ unavailability.
The founder-chairman of PTI, Imran Khan, will be able to run in the general elections if the Supreme Court overturns his conviction in the Toshakhana case.
PTI leaders assert that a sizable portion of the populace supports them and that party members will be surprised if the PTI election symbol appears on the ballot on election day.
Furthermore, there is a much greater likelihood that the PTI will pull off an electoral upset if Imran Khan is permitted to run for office.
It was widely assumed that the PTI would struggle to field candidates for the general elections after the clampdown on the party that followed May 9.
Still, the number of PTI candidates who have submitted their nomination papers exceeds that of any other party. In actuality, there are more PTI candidates for the national and provincial assemblies in the elections scheduled for February 8, 2024, than there were for the 2018 elections.
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